Starfox: Legacy
by Pulsar
Summary: In an Altered Universe, Fox McCloud and allies both old and new must face a world shattered by the threat of Andross... as well as the legacy of pasts remembered and forgotten.
1. Series Explanation

Hello, everybody. Bear with me, I'm currently struggling to decide whether I should say that I'm back or not, seeing as how I was never here before, exactly.

I'll try to explain. This is a rewritten, revised version of what happens to be the first fanfic that I ever had the guts to post on the Internet, on a different site. The original storyline was titled "Altered Universe", and, as anyone who read that series already knows, I tried my hardest to live up to such a title. Basically, I took the characters of the Starfox universe, changed them around, and put them into a new version of events. It was a completely alternate universe, with the heroes leading different lives, having new friends and enemies – heck, one of them even changed gender! – but still in the spirit of the original source material.

I decided to rewrite the early chapters for several reasons. After I got into writing my "Phoenix's Tear" series for Monster Rancher (which I hadn't started with the intention of making a series, mind you), I became uncomfortable with working on "Altered Universe". Looking it over time and again, I kept wondering if I couldn't do better than I had. Some parts seemed too rushed and confused to me, and I wanted to try and define the characters better, show the reasoning behind, for example, the obvious bad blood between two teammates. I realized that, while I knew such things, my readers wouldn't, and… it was a very uncomfortable realization.

So I tried backing up and starting over, taking what I had so far and revising it, improving it as best I could, fleshing the material I had out. I can only hope I've done a pretty fair job of it so far.

Some of you may have seen the original version of this before. I sincerely apologize for the long, long wait, and I understand if you thought I'd abandoned this series. I know I never gave a proper explanation until now, and I'm so sorry… I hope that at least some of you can find it in your hearts to forgive me, if nothing else…

As for the rest of you, I feel I should stress the fact that this is an _alternate universe_ type story. As in, take everything you know about the Starfox universe and turn it on its ear. I cannot stress this warning enough: if you're a traditionalist who is easily upset by the slightest tweak to the established, 'official storyline' (though there are at least three 'official storylines' with the two games and the comic), then leave now or forever hold your flames. I will listen to constructive criticism, not whining about how much things have changed in this world from the reality you're used to.

Legalities, legalities… I don't own the rights to Starfox, the Lylat System, the setting… all of that belongs to Nintendo and Miyamoto-san. However, I do happen to own the original (read: non-game or comic characters) that show up in this series. You'll have to contact me if you want to use any of them in one of your own stories, okay?

So… is this where I say, "Here we go again…" or what…?


	2. Legacy's Origins

Chapter One: Legacy's Origins

Panting, sweat forming tiny rivulets in his matted, reddish-orange fur, a young vulpine paused in his frantic scramble to flee the burning city long enough to cast a swift, frightened glance over his shoulder. Wide, clear eyes of a pale hue darted nervously over the rubble behind him, desperately searching the twisted ruins of concrete and metal for any signs of life. After a few moments, the young vulpine sighed in relief as his gaze finally came to rest on a pair of familiar faces beneath him, and offered a helping paw up to the nearest of his two friends.

A slender hand covered in soft sapphire feathers twined delicate fingers around his wrist, and the vulpine grunted as he pulled its owner up just enough for her to climb up beside him. Kneeling beside him, the avian uttered not a single word of thanks, but instead simply turned to aid the other member of their small party in clambering up the pile of wreckage. This took both of the youths pulling, for their third friend, of the amphibian race, was not as agile or strong as his companions were.

For a few precious moments, the trio simply sat where they were upon the small hill and attempted to catch their breath, collect their thoughts before moving on. Slowly, the panting young vulpine shifted his gaze towards what was left of his hometown, and his pale, shimmering eyes widened in growing horror as he watched flames leap into the darkened, nearly crimson skies. The city that he and his close friends had grown up in was barely recognizable, its once proud skyscrapers now toppled to the ground, the buildings nearly all in ruins, while those that still stood seemed on the verge of collapse.

The cause for this utter destruction of all that he had known could be seen clearly in the smoke-clouded skies, in the form of flashing lasers and swooping ships, and larger battle craft looming just on the horizon. While not all of the fighters belonged to the ones responsible for this terrible tragedy, he knew that far too many of them were members of the Venomian armada…

"Fox. We should get moving," the female avian said, jolting the vulpine back to reality.

"B-b-but Falco…" the amphibian protested, rotund eyes widening with shock as he stared at his companions.

"Falco's right, Slippy," Fox told the toad, standing up as he spoke.

The amphibian gasped, whirling to stare at his other friend in terror, and the vulpine nodded grimly, regretfully. Even though Fox understood the toad's desire to stay – wanted to remain here himself, look for his father and other friends – at the same time, he knew that the blue falcon was correct. It was not simply because she happened to be about a year older than the vulpine; like it or not, there was little that a trio of children such as themselves could do in such a disaster. They could not fight the Venomian hordes off, or even hope to overpower a few soldiers… all they could do for now was survive.

"B-b-but… where can we go?" inquired Slippy mournfully, glancing back toward the burning Corneria City. "T-t-there doesn't seem t-t-to be a-anywhere safe…"

"…We'll just have to find somewhere," Falco replied. She watched the blazing remains of her home as well, the flames reflecting in her luminous aquamarine eyes as she whispered, "We have to survive. Somehow, we must find a way to payback Andross for this…"

"…Yeah," Fox agreed, nodding slowly.

Sighing, Slippy got to his feet and stood with his two close friends, joining them as they gazed at what remained of Corneria City. The young frog's huge round eyes wavered with sorrow and grief, and he softly murmured, "P-please… be okay… M-M-Mom… D-D-Dad…"

Fox glanced over at his amphibian friend, sympathy shining clearly in his eyes. He understood perfectly how the toad was feeling: while his mother was long dead, having been killed in an accident when he was only three, his father was, to his knowledge, still very much alive, and probably fighting against the Venomians at that moment. After all, his father was James McCloud, leader of the legendary Starfox team…

"…Father… Stay alive… We'll come back someday," Fox promised under his breath.

Then, the young vulpine turned away from the carnage still going on in the blazing town and began to lead his two close friends toward whatever lay beyond the city, toward the unknown that held both the possibility of death and the fledgling hope of survival…

* * *

The trio of friends had been extremely lucky: not only had they managed to escape with their lives, but they had also not been caught up in the masses of frenzied citizens that were currently swarming through the city streets in a panicked rush, struggling to get to the shelters. The Venomian attack had not been completely unexpected, for there had been areas already built for the people of Corneria City to hide in case of such an emergency, but the battleships had come so quickly that many had been caught off guard by their sudden appearance. Now those unfortunates were racing against time to make their way to safety, while death lanced through the smoldering skies above them in the form of Venomian cruisers, lasers, and bombs.

Sad to say, in this scramble for life itself, the smaller and weaker of the Cornerians were often overlooked, pushed around roughly by the bigger and stronger without thought for what might happen to them. The sickly, the young, the very old, they suffered greatly from the coarse treatment that many other refugees gave them.

On one of the streets, a young ferret cried out as the sheer force of the throng shoving past her yanked her hand from the tight grip of her adoptive mother, and she screamed in pure terror, reaching out blindly for them, her cries mostly lost in the noisy crowd.

However, her horrified screeches did not go completely unheard, and her foster brother hesitated only a second before suddenly releasing the paw of his father and lunging into the masses after her. Being a little older and stronger than the ferret, the ashen-furred pup was able to push through the crowd enough to seize her arm roughly, and yanked his younger sister back toward him. Protectively, he wrapped his arms around her, and each could feel the other's heart thudding against their heaving chests as they clung tightly to one another, even as the relentless push and tug of the swarming throngs of frightened people forced them farther and farther away from their parents.

"Mommy! Daddy!" the ferret screamed over and over, straining for a glimpse of the rest of her adoptive family, seeing no sign of them.

"Don't worry, Sable, they'll be okay," the gray-furred puppy attempted to reassure her, even as his own dark blue eyes scanned the hordes uselessly.

"Billy…I'm scared, Billy," sobbed his sister, burying her tear-streaked face in his shirt, clinging to him all the tighter as they stumbled along, driven on by the uncaring mass of fleeing citizens all around them.

The two struggled forward, half-swept along to the nearest shelter. Neither knew at that time that their parents, still trapped somewhere in the crowds swarming the streets, would soon be dead, caught in the open by stray laser fire…

* * *

"NO!" Peppy Hare shouted uselessly as he saw laser beams raze through a crowded street, cutting down masses of unfortunate Cornerians still caught in the open.

Tears brimmed in the Arwing pilot's reddish eyes, yet he quickly banished all thoughts of crying, shaking his head curtly to scatter the sparkling drops: now was not the time to mourn, or be distracted by the many losses that they were suffering. For now, all that mattered was the fight to keep those who were still alive safe…

"Starfox team, report!" a commanding voice barked on his com-link.

"Peppy here; a little singed, but still intact," he replied automatically, noting the level his ship's shields were currently on.

__

Sixty-two percent… not the best rating, but considering the hell we've been through so far…

"Pigma's here, sorta," reported one of his two teammates, and Peppy winced as his sensors displayed his comrade's power gauge as well. He could tell what Pigma   
Dengar meant by 'sorta': his shields were only at forty-six percent, having taken quite a bit of punishment from the enemy's laser fire.

"Just hang in there, boys, we'll drive back these Venmies yet!" urged their third and final member, their commander.

"Right," Peppy and Pigma replied almost in unison, but both felt a slight surge of alarm as they noted that their leader's own shields were dangerously low: a mere thirty-seven percent, and that seemed to be dropping steadily as the battle wore on…

"Be careful, James," the rabbit cautioned, even as he lashed out with his Arwing's lasers and sent another enemy craft hurtling to the ground in a fatal plunge.

A second strike caused the fighter to explode in midair rather than crash into the streets of Corneria City. Of course, it sealed the fate of the Venomian pilot still inside, but then again, what did Peppy care for the enemy? Better that the assailant would die like that than crash-land and endanger still more of the citizens…

Instinct took over as the desperate battle for his home planet's very survival raged on, as Peppy utilized all of his fighting skills just to stay alive. Although he was the Starfox team's expert strategist, it was not on the virtue of this alone that he was a member: like both James McCloud and Pigma Dengar, he was an ace pilot, with a sleek Arwing at his command. Weaving in and out of laser fire and explosions, the rabbit launched his own attacks, mercilessly destroying the seemingly endless hordes of Venomian aircraft.

Still, for all of his skill, he was not fast enough to avoid everything, and the power levels of his shields slowly lowered with each blast that struck his furiously darting Arwing.

__

Even if I die… it will be worth it if Corneria is saved from this menace…

Brave sentiments, but Peppy could not help but wonder as he scanned the battle around him if there was truly any hope of driving away the Venomian forces. Andross had sent so many troops for this raid… Even though the Cornerian Defense Force had almost completely deployed to combat these ruthless attackers, the outcome still remained uncertain…

"What th… WAAAUUUUGGGHHH!"

The startled scream of one of his teammates shocked Peppy back to reality, and he quickly responded.

"Pigma, what happened?!?" he demanded, scanning the skies for any sign of his fellow wingman even as he continued to shoot down the enemy.

The pig made no reply, yet Peppy soon saw for himself what was going on, and he gasped sharply in terror: Pigma's Arwing had been caught in a tractor beam, and was slowly being drawn into the waiting, gaping hatch of a Venomian transport carrier. The rabbit could just barely make out the unconscious form of his teammate through the space fighter's canopy, and felt his heart sink: there was no way he could possibly fight his way over to the ship in time to aid his comrade.

He was not the only one who witnessed Pigma's danger: James McCloud let out an enraged curse, and his ship's thrusters glowed bright crimson as he shot to his wingman's aid, hyper lasers blazing. Ignoring the hordes of enemies surrounding him, the vulpine concentrated only on getting over to where his nearly captured comrade was as quickly as possible, blasting any Venomian who dared get in his way.

Still it was not enough: Pigma's ship was swallowed by the enemy cruiser, the massive doors of steel and alloy swinging shut with a dull, final clunk and sealing before the pilot's teammates could do anything.

Peppy winced in sympathy as he heard James burst into a torrent of profanity: both were painfully aware of the fact that their partner's fate was as good as sealed. Ever since their formation years before, and their initial defeat of Andross, the mad ape had vowed to one day make them pay for all they had done to him. Prisoners of the evil scientist never lasted very long…

Screaming his frustration, James lashed out relentlessly at the Venomian fighters that swarmed out to attack him, no longer bothering to watch the level of his now dangerously low shields. However, Peppy was still able to monitor them, and gulped as he noticed what his friend and remaining partner failed to see…

"James! Get out of there!" he hailed, desperately. "Your shields—"

The vulpine's shields were dropping too quickly, and Peppy had no time to call out exactly how close they were to failing completely. It was already too late.

Horrified, the rabbit strategist could only stare helplessly as the Arwing piloted by James McCloud, his commander and closest friend, exploded into a ball of flames…

* * *

"James…_NOOOOO!_ James, JAMES!"

Gasping, Peppy Hare sat bolt upright in his bed, eyes flying open as he abruptly escaped the grip of his nightmare. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and he covered his face with one paw, breathing harshly as he struggled to shake off the lingering sense of terror and powerlessness that swept over him.

The nightmare was made all the more horrible by the fact that it was more of a memory than a simple night terror: while nearly six years had gone by since that fateful battle, it still loomed fresh in his mind, haunting him. The Cornerians had eventually turned the Venomian hordes, but it could hardly be called a victory, for their main cities had almost entirely been wiped out.

Still, Corneria lived on, and the survivors of that horrendous battle were still able to continue the resistance. As long as they lived, Andross would not go unopposed… But that fact did not make the loss of his two close companions and friends, not to mention the loss of so many civilians, any more bearable to the old veteran.

Sighing, swinging his feet over the edge of his bunk, Peppy ran over the other portions of his dream-vision silently. These images came not from his own personal memory, but were rather a side-effect of his enhanced mental abilities: he was a mild telepath, and occasionally memories from others would find their way into his own mind. It was both a blessing and a curse, for while it caused him to remember the battle for Corneria with the added horror and fear of countless refugees and fighters, it also gave him hope, for he knew that Fox McCloud and two of his friends had managed to escape…

__

…But to where…?

That was the question that had haunted him for years; the one that had come to burn all the more brightly recently, when the vision of them escaping from the wrecked city had begun to come more frequently than ever. He needed to find the answer soon… before it was too late… Too late, perhaps, for any of them…

Sitting on the edge of his bunk, the old veteran resolved something in the back of his mind at that moment: as soon as the morning dawned, he would have to see the General with his request…

* * *

Despite the fact that its once-proud cities had been all but destroyed several years ago, sunrise on the planet Corneria was still a beautiful time. The sun spread its vibrant rays over the horizon as it always had, indifferent to the fact that it no longer touched gleaming rooftops and bustling skyscrapers with its light.

As was his custom, General Pepper greeted the dawn by standing before his window with the blinds half-open, solemn brown eyes gazing out toward the steadily rising orb behind the relative cover of the shades. The office he stood in was just one room in the new base they had built after Andross' assault: Corneria would not stay down for very long.

A light rapping on the doorway startled the canine for a moment: he typically did not receive any visitors this early in the morning.

"Come in," he intoned, turning to face the automatic door as it slid open.

The confusion and mild annoyance on the bulldog's wrinkled face melted away as he saw who was standing there, and the commander smiled.

"Ah, Peppy! Come, come, sit down! What brings you to my office this early?"

"A request, General Pepper," replied the veteran as he took a seat in front of the canine's desk.

Once again, the commander was startled for a moment, but he quickly recovered, and settled into his own chair behind his desk.

"What is it?" he inquired, getting directly to the point.

"General Pepper, as you know, I firmly believe that Fox McCloud was not killed during Andross's raid on Corneria City," Peppy began, carefully watching the canine's reaction.

"Yes," the general nodded slowly. "Continue…"

"That is why… I want to request permission to go on a mission to search for him."

"What?!?" General Pepper barked, nearly leaping to his feet from shock. "Peppy… you know that the Venomians often patrol outside our controlled area! To leave the base…"

"I wish to locate the only son of my leader and friend, James," the rabbit interrupted, staring the canine straight in the eye. "I know that he is alive… I have to find exactly where he is, and bring him to safety, if possible. I owe James… that much…"

The commander's brown eyes softened immediately in sympathy and concern: the general had been one of the vulpine's friends as well, and the loss of James McCloud had hurt him more deeply than simply the death of a great pilot.

"…Are you certain you want to do this, Peppy?" he asked softly after a few moments.

Peppy returned the bulldog's gaze firmly, without a hint of weakness.

"Yes, General," he replied. "I have to do this. I truly believe that James's son is still alive. I can sense him out there… I humbly request your permission to go search for him."

General Pepper watched the veteran's face closely for a long moment. He knew that the old rabbit's hunches were usually correct: they had helped pick out some of the best Arwing pilots the Alliance had now. Yet he knew, deep down inside, that part of the rabbit's confidence in his finding the young McCloud alive were rooted in his own desperate prayers.

"Very well, Peppy," the general finally said. "You may depart the base and proceed with your search. But," he added as the veteran nodded and turned to leave, "you must remember one thing."

Peppy turned back to stare at him, watching as the commander got up from his chair and slowly approached him. General Pepper put both of his heavy hands on the rabbit's shoulders, gazing down into his face.

"Peppy…be careful," he said.

The rabbit paused for a moment, then smiled up at the canine. Gently pulling free of his commanding officer's grasp, he nodded acknowledgement.

"Always, General."

Then, saluting once, he turned and strode out of the office, leaving the commander standing alone with his own thoughts.

* * *

After making a few preparations and pulling some supplies together, the veteran Arwing pilot felt he was ready to depart. It was already mid-morning as he marched briskly down the corridors, making his way toward the hangers. He wanted to get started as quickly as possible.

"Peppy! What's happening?"

At the sound of the youthful voice behind him, the rabbit stopped short and turned to see a lean female ferret racing toward him, a wide grin on her face. Returning her smile, he waited politely for her to catch up to him. Within moments, she was standing by his side, smiling up at him. She shoved her blue-tinted flight goggles up onto her forehead, flipped a stray strand of blackish-brown fur away from sparkling sky blue eyes, and asked, "What's up, Peps?"

"Hello, Sable," Peppy replied simply.

Looking at the exuberant ferret, he mused briefly on how hard it was to believe that this cheerful teenage girl was actually one of the new Arwing pilots. And he had been the one who insisted that she be recruited onto the team! Still, he knew from experience that appearances could be deceiving, and that the seemingly ditzy young girl was one of the best pilots they had.

"General Pepper just gave me permission to go out on a search for Fox McCloud," he informed her.

"Really, Peppy?" Sable asked, her eyes wide with surprise. "Wow, that's great! Can I come along?"

"That's not a good idea," Peppy replied, wincing as he saw her smile vanish and her shoulders sag briefly with disappointment.

"Why not?" she demanded, her voice rising several octaves.

Peppy sighed inwardly. "Sable, listen," he said, "you can't come along because your team needs you here. You have to stay with them and help protect Corneria. They need you more than I do. Don't worry, I can take care of myself. I have for years."

"I guess so…" Sable whispered, eyes downcast. "But… promise you'll be careful?"

"Of course," Peppy replied, smiling reassuringly at the ferret.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught their attention, and both looked up to see a young dog and rabbit coming toward them. Both were dressed in full uniform, but the ashen-furred dog's outfit was yellow and green, while the female rabbit was dressed in navy blue and scarlet. The canine smiled at both of them, cobalt eyes flashing behind his sunglasses, but the female rabbit beside him seemed to barely acknowledge their presence.

"Hey Peppy, Sable!" the dog greeted them. "Peppy, I just heard the great news! Good luck!"

"News travels fast, eh, Bill? Thank you," Peppy said, but his attention was focused on the young woman behind the ashen-furred canine.

Sensing his gaze, she shifted slightly, avoiding his eyes. Instead, she rather pointedly glared at Sable, her pink eyes narrowing with a sort of disgust. The ferret ignored the look, shrugging it off and turning to look back at the older rabbit.

"If you are planning on leaving," the female rabbit said at length, "you should go now, Mister Hare."

"Jeez, Rabbi," Sable drawled under her breath, "you're not really one for heartfelt good-byes, huh?"

"She's right, you guys," Peppy said, starting back down toward the hangars. Over his shoulder, he called, "You guys tell Fara, Katt and the others that I said goodbye, okay? I'll see you soon!"

"We will," Bill Grey answered, draping one arm around the ferret's shoulders and waving at Peppy.

The veteran pilot turned on his heels and walked out of sight down the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, Bill noticed that Rabbi had already turned away and was striding off in the opposite direction. He sighed, then glanced down at Sable, who was staring down the corridor to where Peppy had vanished.

"See you soon," she whispered in a voice too soft for anyone save Bill to hear.

* * *

Peppy crawled into the cockpit of his ship. Although the old veteran had quit flying an Arwing some time ago, he still had a personal spacecraft he used from time to time to get around. As he buckled into the seat and prepared for takeoff, he felt his mind drift back slightly, and he imagined a familiar voice crackling over the radio.

__

All aircraft report.

__

Pigma here, I'm not bacon yet!

__

This is Peppy, I'm fine.

__

All right then, boys, let's take it home.

Peppy shook his head suddenly, snapping out of his reverie. Sighing, he brought his aircraft around and launched out of the base.

__

That was a lifetime ago, he reminded himself. _I can never have that time back!_

* * *

Out of the range of the base's sensors, a massive warship lurked in waiting. Its burly commander, a gravel-voiced lizard with a long scar marring his left cheek, smirked as the ship's radar picked up a tiny blip. So his persistence in patrolling this area had finally paid off…

Turning to his underlings, he rasped, "Move in. We're going after it. And remember," he added with a sneer, "go easy on the lasers. Andross wants a few live ones this time."

* * *

Sable Lightfoot glanced out the window at Peppy's departing ship. Heaving a heavy sigh, she wished that she had been allowed to at least escort the veteran's ship for a while. If only she had been able to convince Peppy to let her come along! …But she knew he would never allow it. He kept insisting that she stay at the base… "Your team needs you more than I do," he had told her.

__

Funny, I don't feel needed. Between the way Rabbi treats me, and the others' fighting skills, it's a wonder I'm on the team at all! 

Fara Phoenix could sense her friend's disappointment. Of course, it was obvious to anyone who even glanced at the ferret that she was feeling bad: her normal perky optimism had vanished, and the sparkle in those wide blue eyes had dulled to a shadow. The girl was slumped down in a chair by the window, and kept glancing outside with such a look of complete gloominess on her face that Fara felt something twist painfully deep inside her.

"Don't worry," the female vulpine said soothingly, walking up behind the ferret and placing a comforting paw on her friend's shoulder. "Peppy can take care of himself." When Sable did not reply to this, she prompted gently, "Come on, let's go get a snack. I'll buy, even."

This last comment was actually more of a joke than anything else, since all the food in the military lounge was free for any enlisted Cornerian soldiers. A common joke among most of the fighters, in fact, was that the military would have trouble giving most of the stuff passed off as rations in that particular cafeteria away, let alone selling it. Still, it caused the ferret to glance up at her and smile, and that was all Fara really cared about, anyway.

"Sounds great," Sable replied, getting to her feet. "Only… how about we get out of this place and go find some real food instead?"

Fara returned the ferret's mischievous grin at that, and nodded. As they turned away, Sable couldn't help but pause to steal one last glance toward Peppy's small transport ship, which was already a dot on the horizon.

Suddenly Sable's bright blue eyes widened in shock. Bright lights had abruptly burst into life in the skies around the vessel, and she knew in one terrible instant that they were lasers. And their source…

"Fara!" Sable shrieked.

The vixen turned, took one disbelieving look out the window, then followed on the ferret's heels as they raced for their Arwings. The entire way, Sable continued to shout an alert, loudly calling out for any assistance they could get.

"Red Alert! Red Alert! Venomian craft in Cornerian airspace!"

"What's going on?" Rabbi demanded as the two darted past her, nearly knocking her down in their haste to get by.

"Peppy's under attack from a Venomian cruiser!" Sable shouted over her shoulder, not even bothering to slow down.

That was all it took. After a few precious minutes, a team of four Arwings launched simultaneously from the base. In the front of the small group, Rabbi made a few final adjustments to her controls, testing them to make absolutely certain that everything was functioning properly.

"Get ready," she ordered sternly over her com-link. "They'll send fighters to deal with us. Watch yourselves at all times."

"Roger, commander," answered Fara.

"I hear you, Rabbi," Bill replied next, silently cursing the fact that he hadn't been able to contact their other member before they had needed to launch off. They needed all the fighters they could get…

"Yes, Rabbi," Sable murmured, heart pounding too wildly for her to come up with anything else. Inwardly, she berated herself for not insisting on going along to escort Peppy. Flipping her goggles down over her eyes, she reached for her com-link.

* * *

"AUGHHH!" Peppy screamed as a laser burned through the left wing of his spacecraft.

The severed wing plummeted to the ground far below, and the rabbit wrestled with his controls to keep his ship from following suit.

"Damn you," he muttered at the Venomian cruiser. "I don't need this right now!"

Swerving wildly, he attempted to avoid the blasts that threatened to turn his ship into a smoking hunk of twisted metal, with only marginal success.

"Peppy! Are you okay?" Sable's worried voice crackled over the com-link.

But Peppy was too busy to answer her hail. Another laser tore into his ship, slicing into the engine. As it sputtered and failed, another blast sent the rabbit reeling, his head snapping back and slamming into the back of his seat. The impact knocked him out before he could even cry in pain, and he slumped in his seat, slipping into darkness, Sable's frantic cries still ringing in his ears…

* * *

"We've got them," the lizard commander gloated. "Activate the tractor beam and bring our guest in."

* * *

"Peppy? Peppy!" Sable called, watching in horror as the ship plunged toward the unforgiving ground.

Suddenly, a beam of light shot from the enemy spaceship and engulfed the falling ship, halting it in midair. As the ferret and her teammates watched in shock, the tiny vessel was reeled back toward the Venomian warship's waiting hatches.

"A tractor beam!" Fara cried, her voice breaking. "They've captured Peppy!"

"Not if I can help it," Bill growled, racing toward the ship, Sable directly behind him.

"Here comes the enemy," Rabbi warned, seeing several squadrons of Venomian fighters emerge from the ship.

"Not a problem, Rabbi," Fara called back, swooping past her commander to meet the opposing forces.

Her hyper lasers flared, and instantly two of the fighters exploded. Nearby, the other Arwing pilots were also firing their lasers, weaving and rolling to avoid the return fire.

"Fara! Bogey on your six!" Sable warned. Before the vixen could react, however, the ferret lashed out with her own lasers, and the Firebird crashed to Corneria's surface.

"Never mind," Sable amended with an impish grin. "I got it."

"Nice shot, Sable," Bill laughed, then turned his attention back to the Venomian warship in time to see it pulling away, too quickly for him to attack it. "Damnit," he cursed, "the cruiser's escaping!"

"I'll go after it!" Sable yelled, blasting the last of the Firebirds and whirling in that direction.

"No!" Rabbi's stern voice exploded over the radio. "Return to base, now!"

The other pilots stared at her ship in shock.

"But Rabbi…" Sable started.

"No buts," Rabbi hissed. "The enemy is trying to lure us away from the base. We cannot leave it defenseless. For any reason."

Without another word, Rabbi swung her Arwing around and headed back toward the base. Her wingmen stared after her ship, then reluctantly followed, Sable glancing helplessly toward the distant Venomian cruiser.

"Sorry," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

With a sob, she turned and jetted after her allies, tears splashing against her goggles.

* * *

"What's going on? What did I miss?" a pink-furred feline demanded as she charged into the hanger to find four Arwings missing and several extremely worried-looking personnel running around.

When nobody immediately stopped what they were doing to explain to her what was going on, the cat's violet-blue eyes flashed with annoyance. Reaching out, she grabbed the shirt of the next person that ran past and repeated her question, glaring at them.

"P-Peppy's transport was attacked by a Venomian warship!" the nervous technician blurted, pale with fear. "T-the other Arwings already took off to try and help him, but…"

"Damn!" cursed the cat, releasing the worker's shirt and darting toward her own Arwing.

However, just as she was about to climb into the cockpit and take off, she spotted four small fighters gliding back into the base and landing. Realizing that the battle had already ended, she quickly ran over to join her teammates.

"What happened, Bill? Fara?" she called, seeing two of her partners.

"Katt…" the vixen replied slowly, soft emerald eyes misting with emotion as she quickly looked away from the feline's face, not wanting to meet her gaze.

"Where's Peppy? Did he get away alright?" Katt asked, locking eyes with the ashen-furred canine instead.

Cobalt eyes solemn behind his dark sunglasses, Bill simply shook his head in the negative. Katt gasped, the expression of shock on her face soon morphing into one of barely contained anger, sorrow and grief.

"No… if only I'd come sooner…" she whispered.

"It wouldn't have done any good, anyway," the canine told her, a note of bitterness that was not aimed directly at the feline creeping into his voice as he added, "Rabbi told us to return to base without giving chase."  


"What?! How could she…" the feline hissed, glaring over in the tan-furred rabbit's direction as Rabbi emerged from her Arwing and began to walk swiftly away from the rest of her team.

However, as the other three Arwing pilots watched, Sable intercepted the female rabbit before she could leave. The ferret's bright blue eyes shimmered with tears behind her goggles, and Katt noted with concern that her paws were balled into trembling fists at her sides.

She was not the only one who had noticed this, for Fara tensed, biting back a sharp gasp of fear. Bill frowned, cobalt eyes darkening behind his sunglasses, and he swiftly strode forward to stand behind Sable, hoping to help resolve the tense situation before things became even worse.

"Please allow me to pass," Rabbi said calmly, her voice even, dark pink eyes regarding her opponent carefully. "I need to report this turn of events to the general."

"Anyone else could tell him, Rabbi," replied the ferret coldly, blue eyes flashing colder than ice for a fleeting instant.

The veiled threat behind her comment was all too apparent to the others in the hanger, and the workers and technicians all froze where they stood, all turning their attention to the exchange. Bill quickly gripped Sable's shoulder, keeping his expression carefully neutral.

"Let me pass, Lightfoot… rookie," the female rabbit repeated her command, hissing the last two words so that both the ferret's last name and the ranking sounded like terrible insults.

"Why are you so eager to tell General Pepper what happened?" inquired Sable, arching one eyebrow sharply as she tilted her head slightly to one side. "You know how he cares for Peppy as a friend… and he was captured because you let him…"

"Mister Hare was captured because of his own foolishness," Rabbi interrupted coolly. "If he had never left the base he would have remained safe… The only one to blame for what happened is Mister Hare. He knew the risks…"

"Mister Hare, _MISTER_ Hare…" Sable echoed, a note of disbelief and pure outrage now coming into her already trembling voice at this last remark of Rabbi's. "All the things that you should call him, and you just say, 'Mister Hare'…"

Her balled paws clenched all the tighter at her sides, until Fara and Katt, watching from a fair distance away, were frightened that the ferret's claws would dig into her palms and draw blood. The thought had obviously occurred to Bill as well, for he gritted his teeth and squeezed Sable's shoulder a little tighter.

At last, she appeared to take the canine's silent, gentle warning to heart, for she abruptly relaxed, allowed her fingers to fall loose at her sides. Eyes closed, she bowed her head, yet did not move out of the tan rabbit's path. Neither did Bill, who stared at Rabbi quietly behind the darkness of his shades as she wordlessly swept past them without another glance in their direction.

With Rabbi's departure, the tension that had steadily built in the hanger like a rising storm abruptly dissipated. A collective sigh seemed to echo through the chamber as the workers and technicians quickly turned back to their duties with exaggerated vigor.

"…That was close," Fara sighed, nearly slumping to the floor as the tension that had been building in her slender body abruptly relaxed. However, she remained standing, and under her breath commented to the pink-furred feline beside her, "I don't think that it will end that easily next time, however…"

"I hope not," Katt whispered back, a hint of venom creeping into her tone as she hissed, "Somebody needs to take that damned Rabbi down a few pegs… If not Sable, then I'll just have to do it…"

"Don't," Fara urgently cautioned her friend. "Your career couldn't handle it, if you attempted to take her on…"

"You're saying that Sable's could?" inquired Katt, although she calmed down visibly at the vixen's words.

Shaking her head, the feline joined her friend in gazing over at where Sable and Bill stood together. The ferret had pushed her goggles back up onto her forehead, and her sky blue eyes were filled with tears as she clung tightly to the ashen-furred canine's side. She didn't want to start crying in front of all of these witnesses, but she couldn't help it.

"Bil…Billy…" she sobbed, burying her tear-streaked face in the canine's shirt.

"Hush…it's okay, Sable, just let it all out," Bill soothed his adopted sister, gently rubbed the back of her neck with his hand.

"But it's not fair, Billy! It's just not fair!"

__

No, it's never been fair, has it, Sable? The canine thought sadly, shaking his head as he remembered how he had comforted her like this before, when they had learned of their parents' deaths. As bad as the experience had been for him, he couldn't help but feel that it had been much worse for his adopted sister, who had to deal with the pain of losing two families because of Andross's hordes. Now that Peppy, who most of the Arwing pilots considered to be a sort of foster father to them, had been captured…

"Damn you, Andross," the canine muttered under his breath, softly so as not to let the sobbing girl in his arms overhear. "If my little sister loses another father to you, so help me, I'll kill you myself… with my bare paws, if nothing else…"


	3. Unusual Meetings

Chapter Two: Unusual Meetings

A single Venomian warship floated lazily just above the surface of Corneria, unescorted by the several flights of fighters that lay waiting in its hangars. The lizard captain felt that there was really no reason to send anyone out on patrol, since there was virtually no threat against the massive carrier in the planet's wilderness. While the initial assault six years ago had been repulsed by Corneria's defenders, the survivors now lived clustered together in underground bases, protected only by the small percentage of the military that had been left alive after the skirmish, plus any new recruits that they had managed to gather during the following years of the war.

As a result, most of the planet was mostly undeveloped, with no one attempting to make a living away from the shelters and bases set up by the Cornerian Defense Force. This meant that the Venomians could fly over the area without having to worry too much about their safety: as long as they didn't stray too near the protected refuges, they would be fine.

For this reason, the Venomian captain did not bother to have even a single scout flying around the surrounding area, or to survey the landscape through the thick windows as he leaned back in his controller's chair and waited to make contact with another fleet craft. Perhaps if he or his men had been paying more attention, they might have noticed a small trio of figures beneath them, watching the warship fly past. Of course, even if they had noticed this detail, they may have ignored it: after all, what could a tiny group of Cornerians possibly do to them?

* * *

"There!" Fox McCloud lowered his binoculars and pointed to the northwestern sky. "It looks like a Venomian warship, flying low over the horizon there. Can you see it?"

He glanced over his shoulder at his two companions, temporarily distracted by the fluttering edge of the tattered green cape he had flung across his shoulders. The cloak was frayed and slightly worn, like most of the clothes he owned anymore, but that didn't particularly bother him. As long as he was comfortable wearing them, and they served their purpose, he was okay with it. Fashion matters little when one is simply struggling to survive.

His friends were dressed similarly, with ragged, makeshift clothing that kept them modestly covered without hindering their natural movements. In addition, the female blue falcon wore a cloak of scarlet fabric over her shoulders, and a bandanna with frayed edges kept most of her longer feathers away from her face; while the amphibian's only additional item other than his normal clothing was a heavy backpack he carried.

"We can see it, Fox," Falco responded. Flipping a stray blue feather away from her flashing blue-green eyes, the slender young avian gazed at the young vulpine and asked, "What do you say to relieving them of their burden of serving Andross?"

"An excellent idea," Fox replied, grinning.

Even as he spoke, he revved the engine of the airbike he was sitting upon. Falco smirked at this, and suddenly a cloud of dust appeared as she took off on her own craft, darting toward the carrier. Fox blinked once in surprise, taken off guard by her sudden departure, then zoomed after her.

"H-h-hey, wait for me!" his other companion protested. Slippy hastily brought his airbike around and followed behind his two friends, still calling, "W-w-wait, wait for m-m-me!"

Ignoring the frog's faint pleas, Falco kicked her airbike's engine into overdrive. As she neared the Venomian cruiser, she carefully aimed her stolen bazooka at its steel hull.

__

Wait for the shot…now!

Her finger squeezed the trigger, and a huge explosion rocked the warship as her shot connected. Smiling, Falco took aim again.

* * *

On board the Venomian cruiser, the captain let out a cry of surprise as the ship bucked forward, pitching him off of his seat and sending him sprawling forward, his jaw hitting the deck with a thwack. Leaping to his feet, he steadied himself by grabbing one of his chair's arms, and took a moment to catch his breath before making his displeasure at what had just occurred known.

"What's going on?" the commander demanded in a rage, glaring at his squirming soldiers.

"We don't know!" one of the lowly underlings sniveled. "A massive explosion just damaged the front of the ship!"

"We're under attack!" another lizard screamed.

"Who's crazy enough to attack a Venomian warship?" the commander spat.

As if provoked by his outburst, the ship pitched wildly again. The captain and crew reeled, struggling to remain where they were, and a few unfortunates who had been standing when the blast hit found themselves landing roughly on the floor or crashing into equipment.

"Another hit! This one went off next to the containment quarters!"

"What? Check the status of the prisoner!" demanded the incredulous captain.

The order rang out through the ship. As several soldiers rushed to carry out the command, the commander slumped in his seat, one hand massaging the scar on his cheek gently. He no longer felt lucky about who he had captured before, knowing that if this one escaped from Andross now, there would be hell to pay, most likely taking the captain and his crew down for good. This was not going as well as he had believed…

* * *

Inside the cell he had been thrown into by the rough Venomian soldiers, Peppy Hare stumbled wildly as the warship pitched. The old veteran had some difficulty keeping his balance, but somehow managed to stay on his feet despite the floor nearly dropping out from beneath him.

"What on Corneria?" he cried. "What's happening?"

His long ears twitched as they picked up on noises outside of the dirty chamber: the door was solid steel, with only a tiny window to see outside, and that was currently covered by a thin metal plate, so he had to rely on what he could overhear. Several alarms were blaring, and he could hear the muffled screams of panicked lizards.

__

Something's wrong with the ship, he thought silently. _Damn! I've got to get out of here before we crash, or…_

He didn't allow himself to continue along that line of thought: the jail cell would probably be completely crushed in the collision. Plus, if through from miracle the impact didn't kill him, he would still be trapped on an enemy spacecraft, most likely badly wounded and unable to defend himself against anything the guards might do…

"Somebody check the rabbit's cell!" a frantic voice yelled, nearly drowned out by the blaring sirens.

Hearing that, an idea quickly formed in the veteran's canny mind. Moving to just beside the door, Peppy pressed against the wall as close as he could and waited, gritting his teeth and trying to keep the noise of his breathing as hushed as possible. Soon, a pair of reptilian eyes appeared at the narrow slot in the metal door.

"What the heck? He isn't here!" the guard shrieked, unable to see the hare crouched in the shadows.

A rustling of keys, then the door swung wide to admit the lizard soldier as he raced inside, looking around wildly. Without hesitation, Peppy leaped toward the guard, paws already balled into fists. Before the startled lizard could react, the rabbit's fists connected with his face, and the guard slumped to the ground in a daze. Quickly relieving the guard of his laser pistol, Peppy shot the crumpled soldier once in the head, then bolted into the corridor.

"The prisoner's escaping!" the guards outside shouted, stating the obvious.

They fumbled for their blasters, but before they could take aim, Peppy fired several shots toward them. His aim was true, and as they collapsed, the old veteran raced toward the docking area, praying that he could locate a suitable ship to escape in time.

* * *

"What do you mean Peppy's loose?" the commander shrieked at the top of his lungs.

The unfortunate soldier who had brought him the news quivered, shrinking back from his enraged superior. Before he could answer, however, another explosion ripped into the room. All the lizards screamed in unison as the fire swept over them. The Venomian carrier plummeted toward the ground, smoke streaming from its hull.

* * *

"DAMNIT!" Peppy howled as he saw the ground below rush up to meet the warship.

As the carrier hurtled toward the unforgiving surface, the veteran forced his 'borrowed' escape pod out of the docking area, pushing its engine into overdrive as it rocketed free of the hulking remains of the once-proud ship.

* * *

"Yes! Man, I'm good!" Falco cheered as she watched the Venomian warship crash into the rocky soil, so caught up in her victory that she failed to notice a single escape vessel blasting away from the wreckage.

"Uh, nice work, Falco," Fox said as he finally pulled up alongside her, "but next time, could you be a little more careful?"

The blue falcon stiffened at his words, and whirled to face him, blue-green eyes flashing angrily. Fox winced backward, and decided to drop the subject.

"Now let's see if there's anything worth salvaging," he said as Slippy pulled up behind them on his airbike.

"You two can handle that," Falco replied with a dismissive wave of her wing. "I've already done my fair share of the work. I'm heading back to the den to change out of these rags."

"What? Hey, wait just a…" Fox stammered, but Falco had already turned and jetted away, leaving him to stare after her airbike in exasperation.

"W-we got stuck with clean-up duty again, h-h-huh?" Slippy said more than asked.

"Uh huh," Fox said with a groan, shaking his head slightly. "Well, let's get to work."

* * *

A slender figure leaned nonchalantly against the rocky side of a cave wall, staring out toward the darkening horizon. Falco Lombardi had her wings crossed over her chest, but did not appear the slightest bit annoyed or worried about her two missing comrades. The trailing edge of her long-skirted, handmade tunic fluttered gently in the cool breeze that wafted into the cavern, its bright crimson shade causing her to stand out against the sand and rocky outcroppings. However, it didn't matter to her, for there wasn't anyone around that could spot her there, and even if there had been a Venomian nearby, she knew that she could easily take them out with the pistol she cradled in one hand.

Finally, as the sky continued to darken, the avian spotted a pair of small figures darting over the rolling sand dunes, and she smiled. Both of the airbikes appeared to be fairly loaded down, probably with whatever the boys had managed to find in the wreaked warship.

"Well, well, you finally made it back," she teased as the vulpine and amphibian pulled through the entryway and parked their airbikes close to her own. "Find anything good?"

"S-s-some stuff," answered Slippy. "We would have found more, if y-y-you hadn't blown up half the cruiser."

Fox winced inwardly, thinking of Falco's likely reaction. Sure enough, whatever the toad was going to say next trailed off under the avian's glare. The trio walked together into the main part of their hideaway, where a large chamber cluttered with various things they had acquired branched off into several smaller rooms and hallways.

"I need a rest," Fox sighed, rubbing one of his eyes in exhaustion.

"Fine," Falco said disinterestedly, turning away with a languid stretch. "I think I'll go hop in the lake and take a bath."

"Why didn't you get in while we were gone?" Slippy asked.

"I didn't want you two to get back and not see me here," Falco replied, picking up a makeshift towel from a shelf. "You get worried so easily."

As she turned and started up the corridor leading to the lake, Fox shook his head and rolled his eyes at the avian's comment. Suddenly, Falco whirled around, eyes flashing. For a moment, Fox thought she had somehow seen what he had done while her back was turned, then realized that she wasn't glaring at him.

"Oh, and Slippy?" she added, ice in her voice. "If I catch you anywhere near the lake while I'm bathing, I'll turn your slimy hide inside out!"

"O-o-okay, okay!" Slippy stammered, his face turning a bright crimson shade as he hastily motioned for Falco to calm down.

The falcon's blue-green eyes flashed warningly one last time, and then she turned and stalked up the corridor. Slippy turned pleading eyes to Fox.

"She'll never forgive m-m-me for that, will she?"

"Doesn't look like it," Fox answered, allowing a little sympathy to surface in his voice.

At the same time, however, he couldn't prevent a little smile from tugging at the corners of his mouth. Slippy noticed this, and his face reddened even more.

"Oh n-n-no, not you too," Slippy wailed. "L-l-look, I've told you before, it was an a-a-accident! I j-j-just wanted to take a quick swim that night. I-I-I didn't realize she was taking a bath at the time, honest! You believe me, r-r-right?" His voice had steadily risen several octaves. "R-r-right?"

Fox didn't bother to answer, instead slipping into another chamber to rest. Behind him, Slippy continued to moan sadly, "Oh n-n-no, why doesn't anyone believe me? F-F-Foxxxxx…"

With a groan of exhaustion, Fox flopped down onto his makeshift bed, the tattered sheets shifting beneath him as he tried to get comfortable. Something jabbed into his side painfully, and he yanked it out and glanced at it. His annoyed expression softened as he recognized the faded picture in the beat-up wooden frame. His fingers strayed absently to the familiar figure captured in the photograph.

Father… 

Unaware that he had whispered the thought aloud, Fox McCloud slipped into a light sleep, face half-buried under the covers, one paw still gripping the old frame.

* * *

Falco shrugged off her clothes and waded into the shallow lake. They were so lucky to have discovered a pond so close to their home, she thought as she immersed herself in the cool water. After all, a lady of her stunning beauty should never have to put up with filthiness…

"Not that the sorry conditions I live in are exactly suitable for me, either," she muttered under her breath.

Stubbornly pushing that thought out of her mind, Falco instead focused on relaxing. She let the chilled waters flow around her body, allowing her mind to drift away, temporarily letting go of all the fears, frustrations and doubts that secretly plagued her during the day.

* * *

Peppy gritted his teeth as he pushed himself forward, trying to ignore the slight throbbing in his legs. The enemy craft he had 'borrowed' had run out of fuel and suddenly given out on him. Now it felt like his legs planned on giving out on him as well. The veteran knew that time was running out for him: he could sense that even now, Venomian troops were searching for him. And if he was caught again…

__

Don't even think about that, Peppy, he scolded himself, even as he felt himself nearly stumble. _Damn, I'm getting too old for this sort of thing…_

At that moment he spotted it: a small opening in a nearby hillside, half-hidden by a cluster of rocks.

__

Shelter, Peppy thought, thanking the powers above for the natural cavern's presence.

With one last glance about to make certain no enemies were nearby, he ducked into the cave. Inside, he slumped against one of the walls with a sigh, almost collapsing from relief at having finally found a safe place to rest.

His hand brushed up against a cool, smooth surface.

"Eh?"

Confused, Peppy turned to see his hand resting on the side of some sort of vehicle. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized that there were three of the unusual-looking crafts nearby.

"…What the…" he murmured, completely stunned. What on Corneria were three airbikes doing in a cave?

Somebody's living here. 

Fighting down the wave of fear that swept over him with that realization, Peppy tried to figure out who possibly might live in a hidden cave.

"Maybe it's the young McCloud," he whispered to himself, daring to hope.

And maybe it's a Venomian base. What about that possibility? 

"At any rate, I need to investigate," Peppy murmured.

Keeping one paw hovering near his blaster, he slowly continued down the corridor, keeping his ears pricked and his eyes watching every shadow. He was mildly surprised when he walked into a well-lit cavern. It looked more like a living room then it did a natural cave: makeshift furniture had been placed inside, and large planks half-attached to the walls served as doors to other areas. A scattering of clothing, spare parts, and various other items cluttered the floor, give the impression of a place that had been lived in for quite some time. Peppy stood uncertainly for a moment, trying to figure out which way he should go next.

* * *  


Slippy bent over his latest project, face still slightly red with embarrassment. He crouched down on the floor in his 'room', the half-finished skeletons of a dozen other projects surrounding him. He'd work on them later, he told himself; right now, he wanted to get a head start on his latest idea.

A bright red and white cap was half-perched on his head, beginning to slip off as he bent further over his new invention, and he absently readjusted it. The hat was very precious to him, and not simply because it happened to have his first name embroidered on its front. It was one of the few items that he had managed to salvage and take with him during their flight from the burning Corneria City, and the only thing he had left of his parents.

Slippy struggled not to think about things like that too much: looking back on those times only caused him to become depressed. He figured that both his mother and his father were dead, that they had been killed in the Venomian attack six years ago. Morbid, yes, but he considered that better than blindly hoping that they were alive and well, knowing that if he ever discovered that they really were long dead, it would break his heart.

Outside the door, he could hear somebody moving around. A sudden thought occurred to Slippy: if that was Falco, then he might have some time to take a quick swim before the water got too cold from the night air. Picking his way through the clutter on his floor, he got to his door and opened it slightly, peering out.

It wasn't Falco. A stranger was standing in the den.

Slippy froze, his rotund eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets.

__

Venomian! His mind shrieked. _What'll-I-do-what'll-I-do-what'll-I-do?!?_

Heart pounding wildly against his ribcage, the toad cowered behind his door, keeping it open a bare sliver as he stared at the intruder.

Oh please go away, please please please go away… 

The stranger surveyed the room, long brown ears straining to hear. Slippy wondered if the man could hear his heart thudding; it sounded like deafening thunder in his own ears. One of the stranger's paws hovered over a nasty-looking blaster in his belt. As the intruder's red eyes swept over the door to where Fox was sleeping, he seemed to pause, and the frog felt his heart nearly leap into his dry throat. He nearly fainted with relief when the stranger's gaze moved on.

Suddenly, the invader began to move. As he carefully, silently crept up a passageway and disappeared from sight, Slippy crept out of his room, mind reeling with a thousand thoughts at once.

__

Falco's up there! he realized with a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Trying not to make any noise, he made his way toward Fox's door, thinking _I've got to get Fox!_

But his trembling hand paused as he gripped the makeshift handle.

__

But what if the stranger gets to Falco before I can get Fox up?

With that thought he made his decision. Releasing the handle, Slippy instead picked up a laser pistol sitting nearby. Gulping, he began to sneak up after the invader.

* * *

Peppy blinked once as he arrived at the end of the tunnel, a little startled to discover that he had wandered into an open area. Several paces away, he could hear what sounded like splashing coming from behind a large pile of rocks. Curious, he crept closer, failing to notice the clothing draped over one of the boulders. He silently peeked around the corner…

* * *

Falco flung back her head, sending glittering droplets of water flying in every direction. Brushing back damp feathers from her eyes, she continued to splash the cool liquid over her body.

* * *

__

Well, that was about the last thing I expected to see, Peppy thought.

Fully aware of his face flushing a deep crimson, the embarrassed rabbit quickly averted his eyes and prepared to retrace his steps back down the corridor. Maybe he should look into some of those other rooms…

At the last moment, his sharp eyes noticed the thin red beam flashing toward him. Then his shoulder erupted in sudden pain as the laser connected, burning into his fur. Biting back the howl of pain and rage that threatened to erupt from his lungs, Peppy rolled away from the lake, grabbed for his blaster, and pointed it toward his assailant.

His eyes widened as he spotted the short, trembling toad cocking a laser gun at him. As he stared, stunned, the obviously frightened youth struggled to keep his gun level with the rabbit's body, despite his violently shaking arms. The amphibian's blue eyes were wide with a strange mixture of overwhelming fear and a determination not to run away.

__

This child is my enemy? Peppy thought in disbelief. Keeping a careful eye on the young frog, he slowly lowered his gun a hair.

"D-d-don't move!" the toad ordered in a hoarse whisper, his voice breaking as he mistook the movement as getting ready to fire.

"I'm not here to hurt you," Peppy offered quietly, catching and holding and youngster's frightened stare with his own calm gaze.

"You l-l-liar!" the boy retorted, struggling and failing to keep his voice even. "Y-y-you're one of Andross's s-s-spies, aren't you? W-w-well, I won't let you hurt my friends!"

__

Andross's spies? Hurt my friends? So that's it, Peppy mused.

Turning his most friendly smile on the frog, he whispered, "Oh, don't be silly. Do I look like a Venomian spy?"

"N-n-no… You do look kind of o-o-old for a spy…" Slippy admitted, confused.

Trying to ignore the jab at his age, Peppy continued, "Well then…"

"But you could still be one!" Slippy finished, his laser still pointed at Peppy's forehead.

__

Damn. Peppy didn't like where this conversation was headed. Carefully, he shifted his weight to get into a better position for battle. He loathed the idea of having to hurt this kid, but if the toad insisted on trying to shoot him… Even now, he could just barely hear the frog's muttering to himself, trying to sort out his next move.

"Oh man oh man oh man, w-w-what now? I-I-I don't know what to do with this g-g-guy. I-I-I wish I'd gotten F-F-Fox up, he'd…"

"Fox? Fox McCloud?" Peppy blurted out the words before he realized how they might be interpreted.

The amphibian's eyes nearly doubled in size, and he stared at the rabbit in shock.

"Oh n-n-no, you are an assassin! A-A-Andross sent you to k-k-kill Fox!"

"I assure you, I'm no…"

"I won't let you h-h-hurt Fox!"

Slippy cocked his laser at Peppy's forehead and, before the rabbit could protest, pulled the trigger. Instinctively, the rabbit flung himself at his opponent, and the pistol clattered to the ground as the two went sprawling backward, hitting a shallow part of the lake at full speed.

"What the-" a female voice cried out.

Slippy and Peppy opened their eyes and looked up in perfect unison. Falco stared back at them, her dress half covering her body, her aquamarine eyes wide. For a moment, a terrible silence hung in the air. Then the stunned expression on Falco's face became one of total outrage, and she screamed…

The next thing Peppy knew, he was hurtling down the corridor at top speed, the toad running beside him. Behind them, Falco was in hot pursuit, one hand clutching her folded dress around her, the other hand holding a laser pistol, still shrieking at the top of her lungs.

"KYAAA! Slippy, you perv! You are so DEAD! I don't know who your little friend is, but you are both DEAD MEAT, PAL!"

As if to emphasize this threat, a laser blast whizzed past, just barely missing Peppy's ears. The veteran yelped and forced his legs to move faster.

__

Why couldn't that stupid frog keep his grip on the blaster? He wondered, not a little bitterly.

Well, he had more important things to worry about right now. The laser blast kept flashing around him, each shot seeming closer than the last.

After what seemed like an eternity of running and dodging laser fire, Peppy and Slippy burst into the main den. Not knowing where to take cover, the two began to race around the room in a rough circle, Falco still on their heels. Her laser seemed to have run out of charges; but unfortunately, she hadn't run out of anger. Grabbing whatever she could get her hands on, the falcon began to toss a volley of objects their way. Spare parts, various articles of clothing, and everything else not bolted down literally flew like guided missiles through the air.

"Ouch!" Peppy cried as a gear collided painfully with his cheek. "Now calm d-ow! -n, my –whoop - lady, I –whoa! - don't mean y-oh! -you any ha-aaHHH!"

The last word became a shriek as the rabbit noticed a rather large screwdriver streaking toward his face. He quickly ducked, and the tool flew harmlessly overhead.

"SHUT UP AND HOLD STILL, GRAMPS!" Falco ordered, taking aim with another tool: she had apparently discovered one of Slippy's toolboxes.

Unable to even protest her insult, Peppy continued to dodge around, struggling not to get hit, as he thought desperately of what might calm the enraged avian down.

Suddenly the door to one of the rooms burst open, and a very irate-looking Fox stomped out.

"What the heck is going on out-" he demanded.

Before he could finish his question, however, a wrench slammed into his face, and he dropped to the floor, unconscious. Dead silence hung in the air as the others stared at his stunned figure.

"Uh…" Falco finally stammered, eyes wide, an almost guilty expression on her face. "Sorry about that, Foxy… Help me get him into bed, you two."

Not wanting to tick off this girl anymore, Peppy nodded numbly and went to help Slippy lift the dazed McCloud off the ground and carry him into the room the vulpine had burst out of a few moments before. He saw how both amphibian and avian glared at him warily, neither taking their eyes away from the rabbit even as they set Fox down.

Peppy forced a smile, hoping to ease their suspicions somewhat. The expression froze on his face as he felt the barrel of a laser gun press into the back of his head, planted firmly between the base of his ears. Somehow, the female falcon had managed to slip out of his sight and step up behind him without making a sound or tipping him off with her movements as to what she was doing.

"Okay, you. Move," she ordered under her breath. "I still don't know who you are, but until we get this sorted out, you're going to be staying here. Come with me, and don't make a move that I don't tell you to make."

Obediently, Peppy remained perfectly still, and raised his paws into the air at her sharp order. Out of the corner of one eye, he noted that Slippy had retrieved a gun as well, and kept it trained on the rabbit as he interposed himself between him and the unconscious vulpine.

"I t-told you that I wouldn't l-l-let you h-hurt Fox," he commented, a nervous, crooked grin on his wide face.

"Yes… yes, you did," replied Peppy shortly, vaguely amused despite his dire situation.

Falco jabbed the back of her gun sharply into the back of the rabbit's head again, and he quieted, allowing her to guide him out of the room. As he stepped out, he kept one eye trained on where Fox lay on his bed.

__

This is not how I pictured my first meeting with your son going, James…he sighed inwardly.

* * *

"F-F-Fox? Are you okay?"

The worried question barely penetrated the fog in his head, yet Fox McCloud managed to groan in response to his friend's voice. A dull throbbing in his forehead forced him to slowly wake up. Forcing his eyes open, he could just make out two fuzzy outlines hovering above him. Even as he squinted to make out the indistinct features, he knew instinctively who they were.

"F-F-Fox? You okay?"

"Come on, Foxy, open your eyes already."

The figures blurred, focused, and became his two friends. Fox could see Slippy's anxious face twisted into an expression of concern, and even Falco looked upset. He became vaguely aware that he was lying on his bed, the sheets draped loosely over his shoulders. Shrugging them off, Fox attempted to right himself, only to feel a wave of dizziness engulf him, and he half-slumped back down onto the bunk.

"W-what happened?" he heard himself ask in a quavering voice. His forehead still pounded, and he reached a trembling paw up to his face, fingers lightly brushing the throbbing area. He could feel a bruise forming, and he bit back a cry of pain.

"Falco whacked you with a w-w-wrench," Slippy told him matter-of-factly.

"Well, if you'd just held still, Fox wouldn't have gotten hit!" Falco hissed at the amphibian.

Fox glanced at Slippy, saying mildly, "Falco caught you watching again, huh?"

"Yes," Falco confirmed, glaring at the frog. "I still have to discuss that little matter with him."

"H-h-hey! I wasn't s-s-spying on Falco!" Slippy protested, face a bright crimson once more. "I was trying to stop that spy from Andross from hurting her!"

"A likely story," Falco scoffed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up, Slippy," Fox interrupted, staring at the frog. "What spy from Andross?"

"Oh, him," Falco said, pointing behind her in reply. Looking over, Fox could now see an adult rabbit apparently sitting in a chair, unguarded.

"A spy from Andross, and you just leave him sitting in a chair?"

"Not exactly," she replied mildly, and Fox suddenly noticed something about the stranger he hadn't before. The rabbit was bound firmly to the chair by several coils of heavy rope.

"Oh." Fox shook his head, trying to clear away the fog. At his shoulder, Slippy was saying something, and it took the vulpine a moment to realize that the amphibian was talking to him. Turning to face him, Fox mumbled, "Sorry, Slip, but could you repeat that?"

"I s-s-said, what should we do with him?"

"I say we get rid of him," Falco replied before Fox could say anything. "He's been spying on us for who knows how long, and we have no way of knowing what he's found so far! Besides," she added more softly, a slight blush tinting her cheeks, "he's some sort of pervert, sneaking up and watching me like that."

"I-I-I don't think he's been able to find out m-m-much," Slippy interjected. "When I saw him, he had just come i-i-into the den. He c-c-can't have had a lot of t-t-time to look a-a-around."

"That's good," Fox sighed, but Falco was steaming.

"You mean," she began, a dangerous tone coming into her voice, "that you _let_ that nasty old rabbit sneak up to the lake and spy on me?"

"U-u-uh… u-u-uhhh… t-t-that is…" the amphibian mechanic's face turned pale as he scrambled to come up with some sort of defense for himself. The avian glared down at him with a murderous gleam in her violently flashing eyes.

"Don't start, please," Fox begged weakly, not wanting to get caught in another infamous Falco versus Slippy fight. His forehead still throbbed from their last encounter.

* * *

Peppy Hare watched the trio of youngsters argue over his fate –and nearly everything else –with a growing sense of worry gnawing at the pit of his stomach. When the avian had insisted on making certain that he didn't 'try to escape', he had willingly allowed himself to be bound to the chair in the hope that his cooperation would become a point in his favor. Now, however, it was quickly becoming apparent to him that the three were still extremely suspicious of his motives.

__

It would be a snap to loosen these ropes, his inner voice informed him. _I could slip out of here, take one of those airbikes, and be halfway back to the base before they realized I was gone. Then I could get backup and come back to find them._

No, Peppy quickly pushed the notion from his mind. _If I left now, I'd never be able to earn their trust. I have to stay… and pray they realize the truth._ Leaning back in his chair, he attempted to make himself as comfortable as possible. He knew that he might be waiting for a long time…

* * *

"Well, I think it's totally suspicious!" Falco insisted. "I mean, why would an old guy like that be wandering around out here?"

"We won't know unless we ask him, will we?" Fox replied. Both of his friends stared at him.

"T-t-talk to that guy?" Slippy stuttered in horror. "But w-w-what if he's a Venomian s-s-spy?"

"You can't expect that guy to tell us the truth," Falco cried. "He'll make up some crazy story…"

"No, he won't," Fox insisted suddenly. Falco and Slippy looked at him, surprised by the sudden certainty in his voice. "I know he'll tell us the truth."

"How?" Falco watched the vulpine's face intently.

"I don't know," he faltered, staring past them at the rabbit tied up in the den. "I just… have this feeling about him and I know… I can tell he won't lie to us."

Falco scoffed, yet caught herself gazing back at the rabbit as well. At the back of her mind, she felt a sort of tugging; a nagging sensation that insisted the guy in the other room was familiar…

"Oh, all right," she told Fox, glaring back at the vulpine. "We can talk to him. But if he gets out of line…" She left the threat unfinished, yet both of her friends understood.

"Right," and Fox got slowly to his feet, swaying slightly.

Slippy was at his side, wondering if the vulpine was well enough to stand and saying as much. Fox waved off his friend's concern and made his way into the other room. The rabbit looked up as he entered, Falco and Slippy slowly following behind him.

Peppy smiled up at the vulpine slowly. Yes… he could see James's influence in the eyes of this young man. It had been nearly six years since he had seen the cub, yet he knew instinctively who this was.

"Hello… Fox McCloud," he greeted the boy.

Fox stepped back slightly, eyes widening in astonishment at hearing his full name being used with such ease by the stranger. Staring at the rabbit's hauntingly familiar face, he asked, "How did you know my name? W-who are you?"

Peppy laughed shortly, cutting off the sound when he realized how he might be misinterpreted. Instead, he gazed up at Fox and said simply, "I know you. I also know who you are, Falco Lombardi and Slippy Toad."

The avian and amphibian reacted much as their friend had, and Falco glared at the rabbit.

"Well," she demanded, "since we obviously don't need to introduce ourselves to you, why don't we skip right to your turn? Who are YOU?"

Peppy sighed before replying, "I was hoping you would know…"  
  
"What, do you have amnesia? You came all this way to ask us what your name is?" Falco mocked. "Do you really expect us to believe that?"

"Falco…" Fox signaled for the avian to be quiet, then repeated his earlier question once more: "Please, sir, tell us who you are."

"I know who you are," Peppy repeated, then rapidly moved on when he saw a warning gleam in Falco's eyes, "because I knew your father, Fox."

Fox felt his jaw drop. Closing it, he stared at the rabbit, eyes widening into orbs as recognition hit. At his sides, he heard Slippy gasp softly and Falco's sharp intake of breath, and realized that they had come to the same conclusion. "No way…" he breathed.

Peppy grinned up at the trio. "I am Peppy Hare, your father's wingman, Fox McCloud. Nice to see you again after all these years," he added mildly. The three youngsters just stared at him, and Peppy knew he'd be untied in a matter of moments.

__

THUD.

"F-F-Fox!"

"Ah, crap. You're such a wimp, Foxy!"

…Just as soon as one of them regained consciousness, that was…


	4. Decisions Made in Dreams

Chapter Three: Decisions Made in Dreams

"…And that's the way it is," Peppy finished, watching his audience closely. He could still see disbelief on the three faces before him, and he sighed inwardly. Well, he couldn't blame them if it sounded a little strange.

"So you came looking for us?" Fox said slowly, making it more of a statement than a question. When the rabbit nodded, he continued, "And you want us to help out?"

"Yes, Fox."

"Excuse me, but just how to you plan to have us help?" Falco asked, looking at the rabbit with a hint of doubt in her eyes. Peppy gazed back at her with a slight smile.

"This from the girl who brought down a Venomian cruiser with a bazooka just a few hours before," he mused under his breath.

Aloud, however, he said, "As I explained before, we have a new unit of Arwings now. But we only have a very limited amount of pilots skilled enough to fly the space fighters. We have only five or so pilots who are able to control the things. One of those pilots is a raw recruit who has only flown in battle a few times, while many of the others serve other duties aside from flying Arwings. One of our best pilots even has command of an entirely separate unit, and is unable to always serve the team."

Peppy Hare raised his head and looked each of the three in the eyes separately before continuing, "General Pepper is desperate for new recruits for the team. I believe that, if you were to return with me, he would be willing to allow you to test-fly the Arwings in the hope that you would prove suitable pilots."

He let the offer hang in the air, watching the trio intently, hoping to gauge their reactions.

__

An Arwing pilot…just like my father…

Fox shook his head slowly, scarcely believing the chance fate had offered him. Staring blankly at Peppy, he could see the rabbit's sincerity in making the offer. For a moment, he considered accepting instantly, reaching over the table and shaking the rabbit's hand while thanking him over and over again.

Then he glanced over at his friends, sitting on either side of him. Falco's expression was unreadable, save for a gleam of…fear? Excitement? Shock? Fox had always had difficulty reading the female avian's emotions, never being able to figure out exactly what she thought at any given point.

With Slippy, however, it was an entirely different story. The amphibian mechanic's eyes were wide with surprise, and Fox could clearly see the struggle not to show any doubts or fears in the navy blue pupils.

Fox shifted his gaze back at Peppy, and noticed something else. The rabbit seemed to be genuinely happy with the notion that the trio might be chosen to fly, yet something else was hidden in that eager expression: an old memory, still tormenting the veteran after nearly six years.

__

Hadn't Peppy been there when my father…

The loss of his best friend still showed in the old eyes, like a shadow drawn forever over the rabbit's mind, never fading with the years. Despite himself, the vulpine wondered if he would ever end up with the same look is his own eyes, if one of his friends…

With that thought, Fox made his decision.

"I'm sorry, Peppy," he apologized, "but I can't take you up on your offer. My friends mean too much to me to risk their lives trying to fly an Arwing against Andross."

Peppy wilted at his words, and Fox kicked himself inwardly.

__

Wrong choice of words, he berated himself. He tried to apologize with his eyes, begging the old veteran to understand what he meant.

"Besides, I'm not so certain that I want to get tied into the military," he stammered in a lame attempt to repair the damage he had inadvertently done. "I mean, we've taken care of ourselves for years, and to suddenly be following orders…it'd be too major a change for us. So…I really don't think that…"

"I understand," Peppy interrupted, raising a hand to quiet the vulpine. Avoiding the gaze of the three youngsters, he got to his feet and murmured, "If that's your decision, then I'll leave you in peace. Good luck," and he turned to leave.

"Peppy, wait!" Fox called without knowing why. When the veteran turned to look at him, he stammered, "You…you'll never make it on foot. I'll have Slippy rig up some sort of transportation for you…"

"It's quite alright," Peppy replied, turning to leave again. But the young vulpine was on his feet and at his side in an instant, holding onto the rabbit's paw.

"Please…" the young McCloud insisted, staring into the veteran's face. "It's the most I can do…"

Unable to think up a good enough excuse to refuse him, Peppy simply nodded in silence. Fox smiled up at him, a little sadly.

"Stay here for the night," he offered, gesturing to another room. "I'll make some sort of bed for you to use. If you want, you might be able to leave in the morning…"

Slippy sighed and trudged toward his workshop as Fox continued talking. He knew exactly what this was leading up to. Looked like he'd be pulling another all-nighter tonight…

Falco, meanwhile, remained silent, watching as Fox attempted to make amends with Peppy by apologizing over and over again. Blue-green eyes narrowed ever so slightly, thoughtfully.

* * *

Not far away from the cave, another Venomian cruiser glided slowly over the ground, flanked by squadrons of fighters. Its captain gazed out over the horizon, running over recant events in his mind. Earlier that day, he had received a transmission from one of his fellow ships. The captain was bragging that he had managed to intercept a spacecraft carrying Peppy Hare, one of Andross's most wanted enemies, and had taken the rabbit captive. His Excellency had been thrilled to receive the news that the annoying wingman had been captured, and had ordered that he brought to him at once.

But something had gone wrong. The cruiser carrying the captive suddenly sent out a distress signal then was gone before anyone knew what happened. A few hours later, one of the squadrons sent out to investigate brought back word that the ship had been found completely wreaked. Teams sent into the crashed ship confirmed that no survivors had been found, and there was no trace of the rabbit. Andross had gone into a furor, killing both the unfortunate who had brought him the message as well as several soldiers standing by before sending out the out to find the former wingman.

The scaly captain settled back into his seat, a solemn grin twisting his grimy lips. He had no doubts that his cruiser would find the missing rabbit. After all, if they didn't, Andross would personally skin each of them alive for their failure. Not a pleasant thought, but enough to keep him and his crew motivated during the slow, fruitless search.

* * *

Peppy Hare lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. The makeshift bed Fox had hastily rigged up for him was comfortable enough, yet the veteran knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. His mind was too full of worries, doubts, and self-incriminations to relax. Images from the past whirled through his mind, each carrying a different set of emotions with it.

His team, the Starfox team, standing at attention for a military photograph, James McCloud standing with his two wingmen, not trying to hog the shot at all. The vulpine had his arms hooked over the shoulders of his companions, Peppy and Pigma, in an almost paternal matter, holding them close, and was flashing a peace sign at the unseen camera. A bright, triumphant smile lit up McCloud's face, and Peppy could almost hear his friend's laughter echoing around him.

A photo of James with his wife, the beautiful Vixy, with an infant Fox snuggled in her slender arms. He was holding her tightly, arms wrapped gently yet firmly around her waist, grinning down at his young son.

Another family shot, this one of Peppy himself standing with his own wife: Abby… And standing in front of them in this picture was a young rabbit in a pink sundress, a Band-Aid covering a scrape on her tan elbow. A rose-colored ribbon hung half untied in the soft fur on her tiny head, allowing her sandy bangs to blow free in the spring breeze.

The image of the small bunny smiling up at the couple behind her brought a lump to Peppy's throat, and he attempted to force it out of his mind. Groaning, he rolled over and covered his face with his arm, wiping away the tears that sprung to his pale red eyes.

* * *

In his room, Fox sat on the edge of his bed, gazing longingly at the picture of James McCloud clutched in his paws.

__

Father… did I make the right choice…? I don't want to endanger my friends or anything, but… What about the people of Corneria…?

Everything seemed to be happening so quickly. Until lately, he had never really considered the fact that the city of Corneria had survived the Venomian assault. To his childish eyes, the chaos he had glimpsed seemed a sure sign of the end of everything.

__

I figured this was game over. I thought Moo had destroyed everything, and Falco, Slippy and I were the only ones left…

__

…Well, he did destroy everything, after all… He killed my father in that assault.

Fox closed his eyes painfully at that thought. For a bare heartbeat, when it had dawned on him that this was his father's wingman he was talking to, he had nursed the small, faint hope that James McCloud was still alive. After all, if one of the best pilots had lived through the attack, then maybe…

But that hope had been just as quickly crushed again, when Peppy had told him, "Now that I've found you, I'm certain that James's spirit can rest in peace…"

__

My father is dead. He's not going to reappear one day just like Peppy did and say that everything's going to be all right.

A faint knock on the plank that served as a substitute door to his room caused him to snap up his head, surprised. His expression softened as he recognized the figure standing silhouetted in the entrance.

"Hi, Falco," he greeted the avian softly.

She walked into the room and slumped into a chair nearby, her eyes never leaving the vulpine's. Fox returned her gaze, noticing that she had changed into a simple, handsown white robe made from some bedsheets. The avian watched his face for a moment longer, then started to speak.

"So, Fox, why did you lie to Peppy?" she asked, not beating around the bush. Fox found himself lowering his eyes.

"I…didn't want to drag you guys into something dangerous," he admitted. "I thought that…if we went off to fight…I'd be putting you and Slippy in danger."

"Foxy, we're always in danger out here," Falco retorted. "I want to know the real reason. And I want to hear it now."

"I…" Fox paused, trying to find something to say that would satisfy the blue falcon.

He knew that once she'd set her mind on doing something, whether it was bringing down an enemy fighter or throttling Slippy for some new transgression, she never quit until she had finished. And right now, she was intent upon finding out what had made Fox reject Peppy's offer. The avian knew the vulpine very well, and understood better than others –sometimes even better than he did himself– why he acted a certain way or said a certain thing.

"Don't bother," she sighed as he continued to fumble for an excuse. "I already know why. You're scared you'll let your father down."

Fox snapped to attention and stared at her in total shock.

She shrugged off his gaze, saying, "Don't deny it. I can read you like a book, Foxy. You want to fly an Arwing, just like your dad, but you're scared out of your mind that you'll turn out to be a horrible pilot and let everybody down. You think you'll be a big failure, and get Slippy and I seriously hurt, maybe even killed. You don't want to lose to Andross, and make everybody lose faith in the dream of somebody wasting that guy."

"………"

Fox lowered his eyes, suddenly finding something very interesting in the ground below him. Mainly the fact that, if he watched the floor, he wouldn't have to meet Falco's intense gaze.

"Fox. Listen to me."

Falco stood and walked over to his side. Seizing his chin, she gently forced the vulpine to look her straight in the eyes. The avian spoke slowly and deliberately, as if speaking to a child.

"You can't keep telling yourself that you won't be able to do anything before you even try," she said, keeping her eyes locked with his. "If you do, you'll never be able to accomplish anything. There's nothing I hate more than somebody who just gives up like that."

"…Falco…" Fox started, not sure what he was about to say. Falco silenced him by pressing her wing gently against his lips.

"Shh. Hear me out. I'm just saying that maybe you should reconsider what you told Peppy earlier. I think he could tell that your heart wasn't in what you said, anyway. Not all of it."

She rose to leave, pausing at the doorway to turn and glance back at Fox. A slight smile appeared on her beak as she added, "Although I think you should keep in mind what you said about not wanting to be connected to the army. He looks like he's desperate enough to bargain with us."

She swept out of the room, leaving Fox alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Slippy rolled out from under his new creation, wiping a greasy hand across his forehead with a sigh. Stepping back to admire his handiwork, he couldn't help but feel a flush of pride. He'd really outdone himself this time, he told himself. Still, he had more work to do if he was planning to have it done by morning. For the moment, however, he was more interested in relaxing a bit before slaving away again.

"She looks okay, Slip," a female voice chimed behind him.

Despite himself, Slippy felt his heart begin to pound in his chest, and he whirled to face his visitor with a short yelp.

"F-F-Falco!" he squeaked, his voice cracking.

The avian smiled at him, then strode over to his latest work and ran one wing along its smooth metal edge.

"Relax, Slips, I just came in to see your new cruiser," she assured him. "Looks okay so far. You're making it fairly big, huh?"

"Y-y-yeah, I guess so," Slippy stammered.

"Well, that's good. After all, it may end up carrying all four of us."

The amphibian stared at her. "Y-y-you mean Foxy might…"

"It's not certain yet, but if I know that fox…" Falco smiled again, turned and sauntered out of the room. Slippy watched her leave, then picked up his wrench and went back to his work.

"Oh, and Slippy?"

The amphibian spun to see Falco peeking back into the room. A smirk twisted her beak, and her aquamarine eyes sparkled faintly.

"Don't think I've forgotten. You'd better watch yourself, little man."

Humming brightly to herself, she disappeared out into the hall, leaving a visibly troubled Slippy to his work.

* * *

__

Peppy Hare leaned against a tree in the park and stretched lazily. Another fine day of peace in Corneria City. On days like this, he could almost make himself forget for a while that the calmness they enjoyed was paid for in blood with each conflict they had with the Venomians.

__

He could almost forget that this peace was constantly being threatened, that Andross's forces were slowly beginning to force their defenders to give up more and more ground with each battle. That the ape had managed to conquer a few of the planets closer to his base on Venom.

__

Almost…

__

Childish laughter attracted his attention, and he gazed over at where a group of children were playing, chasing one another around pretending that they were flying through the galaxy instead of running through the grass. A few clutched miniature models of Arwings in their paws – Peppy shook his head at the blatant commercialism that even the army was getting into these days – while the rest used the tried-and-true method of sticking their arms out to their sides to mimic wings.

__

"Look out, Andross, here we come!" cheered a gray-furred puppy, pumping one fist into the air.

__

"Y-yeah, let's get him! Nobody can stop the Starfox team!" added a frog, jumping up and down with excitement.

__

Not all of the children were engaged in this activity. A young falcon with blue feathers was sitting off to one side simply watching the others run around, an amused twinkle in her wide aquamarine eyes. 

__

"You boys honestly think you can take on Andross?" she teased.

__

"Of course!" shot back the canine, blue eyes shining with conviction. "That dumb ape's just an overgrown bully! There's no way he could stand up to us, especially 'cause we have McCloud on our side! Right, Foxy?"

__

"Right!" replied a young vulpine with orange-red fur. Beaming with youthful self-assurance, he pointed at himself and added, "Andross won't have his way with me! My father and I'll beat him up!"

__

"Blast him all the way back to Venom!" cheered a feline with pale pink fur.

__

"Oh, quit being so silly," piped up a young female rabbit with tan fur suddenly.

__

"What do you mean, silly?" snapped the gray puppy, looking peeved.

__

"I mean there's no point in claiming you can beat Andross," the female rabbit replied, shaking her head. A mischievous glitter filled her pale pink eyes as she went on, "Because that monkey's gonna get beaten by the real Starfox team really soon! That's all there is to it!"

__

"Aa-ah, no fair! I want to be able to fight, too!" the puppy whined. Turning pleading cobalt eyes directly on Peppy, he whined, "Hey, can you make sure to leave a piece of that guy for us to blow up, too?"

__

"Well… well now, we're fighting now so that you children won't have to," hedged Peppy. Seeing the looks of disappointment on the youthful faces staring up at him, he sighed and added, "But you'll probably find your own opponents to defeat when you're older…"

__

"Yeah!" the gray-furred canine cheered: in his innocent eyes, the concept of war and fighting was little more than a huge game, a competition. "Man, I can't wait until I grow up and get to fly an Arwing!"

__

"Me too," the vulpine agreed, beaming. "I want to be just like my father when I grow up!"

__

"Of course, none of you will hold a candle to my skills," chimed in the blue falcon, smirking as she looked at her friends.

__

"Oh yeah?"

__

The gray puppy attempted to tackle her, but the avian rolled smoothly out of his way and dove at his back. Within moments, the whole group of children had gotten into the play wrestling, and Peppy was torn between attempting to separate them and just watching them enjoy their youth. He ended up choosing the latter, keeping a careful eye on the mock-fight in case it got too rowdy, smiling slightly at their childish antics…

* * *

Peppy Hare groaned as his eyelids fluttered open. Somehow he had managed to force himself to sleep, yet he still felt as if he'd been up the entire night.

Yawning, the rabbit swung his feet over the edge of his 'bed' and stretched out his arms, gritting his teeth suddenly as his heard his back crack slightly. Getting to his feet, he wandered into the main den. Fox was waiting for him there, sitting at the metal canister that served as a counter for him and his friends.

"'Morning, sir," the vulpine said softly.

Peppy groggily returned his greeting, and an awkward silence fell between the two. The old veteran found himself gazing longingly at the young vulpine: he looked so much like his father. The only noticeable difference was the slightly lighter shade of the younger McCloud's fur, and the absence of the shades James had always worn, even in the coldest weather…

Peppy quickly shook off the feeling. Nothing he felt or did could force things to be any different than they were now. It was a lesson he had learned the hard way years ago, and he had no desire of being taught again. Instead, he nodded simply to the vulpine and said, "I suppose I had better get going. The others probably think I'm still in the hands of the enemy, and I don't need them worrying about me."

__

And I know a certain young pilot who's likely to risk her own permit to come after me, he admitted privately.

"Okay…" and Fox got to his feet to show the rabbit the way. As they walked down the corridor, the young vulpine took a deep breath and began, "Sir?"

"Call me Peppy, Fox," the veteran scolded.

"Um…Peppy…I thought about what I said earlier…and…"

"And?" Peppy prompted, wincing as he heard how eager his voice suddenly sounded.

"And…I still believe that I shouldn't join up with the military. You understand, right? I don't think that Falco and Slippy would like to join the military just because of me."

"Oh." Peppy couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. "Well, then…"

"I'm not finished."

Peppy looked at the vulpine in surprise.

Fox swallowed to relieve the dryness in his mouth, then went on, "That is…I discussed it with Falco for a bit, and she hinted that she might be more willing to come if you could promise that we wouldn't have to join up directly. So I was wondering if…we might be able to head out with you…just to check it out, you understand…"

"Yes…" Peppy replied, slowly. "But what about your other friend? Sli…Slippy, right?"

"Oh, him?" Fox laughed, nervously. "He'll follow me wherever I go."

"Oh." Peppy tried to sound disinterested, but his mind was secretly screaming in celebration. Struggling to sound detached, he replied, "Well, if you're really certain that you want to come along, then you can."

"T-thank you," Fox stammered, unable to think of anything else to say.

A few minutes later, the two walked into an open area, where Slippy's newest vehicle stood with the engine already running. The amphibian mechanic was already loading the airbikes into the back of the long, thin cruiser, and Fox watched him with mild surprise.

"H-h-heya, Foxy!" Slippy greeted his friend brightly, jumping down from the deck. "A-a-as you can see, I'm already finished with her!" Seeing the startled expression on the vulpine's face, he added with sudden uncertainty, "We are heading out with Mister Hare, right?"

"Um, yes…"

"Don't call me mister, Slippy," Peppy told the amphibian. "And yes, you will be coming along, all of you. In fact, I have something important to show you when we get there."  


"R-r-really? W-w-what is it?"

"You'll see." Peppy strolled up to the gleaming cruiser and ran his fingers along the side, admiringly. "This is a fine piece of work. And you built this from spare parts?"

"Y-y-yes," Slippy said, face flushing slightly from a sudden shyness. "A-a-although most of them came from the wreck yesterday."

"Really…" Peppy turned back to examining the ship for a moment, then swung himself over the edge and leaped onto the deck. "No roof," he commented.

"I did that on purpose," Slippy told him as he climbed into the driver's seat. "I built this to be more like a boat than a ship. It's not as heavy that way. You'll want to buckle up, though, it'll be a fast ride."

"Hey, where's Falco?" Fox asked, clambering into his seat. There was no sign of the slender avian anywhere.

"She's coming," Slippy replied simply.

A few moments later, the falcon came into the room, loaded down with what looked like several suitcases. She swung them unceremoniously over the side of the ship, and one landed on Peppy's foot.

Biting back a scream, the veteran stared at the bags and began, "What on Corneria…"

"My clothes," Falco explained, settling daintily into her own seat. "I wouldn't want to be caught unprepared."

"Ah," Peppy said simply. Part of the wisdom of age includes the ability of knowing when to keep your thoughts to yourself.

"Everybody ready?" Slippy asked. "Then here we go!"

The amphibian pressed a button, and the small cruiser launched itself into the air, racing out of the cavern. Fox took one last glance at his home of nearly six years as it faded into the distance behind them, then turned back to watch the skies ahead.

"A ship this fast from spare parts in only one night!" he called up to Slippy, admiringly. "You're quite a guy!"

"It's nothing!" Slippy replied, his face turning red again at the compliment.

The ship cut a sharp path toward Corneria City, leaving a trail of stirred-up dust in its wake.

* * *

The Venomian commander stared at the display screens idly, not really expecting to notice anything. His units had been scouring the area all night with no luck. The only possible clue they had gotten to the rabbit's whereabouts had been a discarded Venomian fighter they had discovered abandoned in the wilds. All that told him was that he was probably on foot, unless someone had picked him up…

A flashing light accompanied by a blaring siren informed him of an incoming transmission. Flicking on his communicator, he glared at the lowly soldier who appeared on the monitor. The lizard gave his superior a hasty salute, then explained that he had noticed a small cruiser zooming along a few clicks away. Should he investigate it?

"Of course, idiot!" the commander bellowed, glaring at the image.

The grunt shuddered and nodded a hasty reply, then signed off. Sighing, the captain issued an order to his crew to take their ship to those coordinates. It was highly unlikely that a little sand-cruiser held their intended target, but one could never be too sure…


	5. Welcoming Committee

Chapter Four: Welcoming Committee

The newly constructed cruiser glided over the ground, engines roaring. On the deck of the small craft, Fox McCloud found himself watching the far horizon with a strange mixture of excitement and apprehension. The wind ruffled his fur, unnoticed by the vulpine as his eyes strained for a glimpse of a city's outline, rising above the surrounding landscape…

"Nervous?" Fox whirled to see Peppy Hare looking back at him from his own seat. The young McCloud felt color spring to his cheeks, and he lowered his gaze hastily while mumbling a reply. He shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable around his father's old friend.

__

He may have your looks, James, but he sure as hell doesn't have your confidence, the old veteran reflected with a mental sigh. The shy looking vulpine squirming under his gaze bore little resemblance to the commanding young man Peppy had once called friend. For that matter, he barely resembled the happy young kitling the rabbit remembered him as being.

"Y-y-yo, Mister Hare! H-h-how much farther to this base of yours?" Slippy called back.

Turning his gaze back toward the driver, Peppy called out, "We're almost there. Keep heading in this direction. And don't call me mister," he added irritably. Slippy shrugged off the reprimand and turned his attention back to steering.

"This base of yours had better be something spectacular," Falco warned the rabbit. The avian was struggling to smooth her wind-ruffled feathers with little progress, a fact which was rapidly causing her mood to deteriorate.

"Don't worry, it is," Peppy assured her, grinning. Gesturing to the landscape before the ship, he added, "Just keep your eyes on the horizon."

Grumbling, Falco watched the area where the rabbit had pointed. A few moments later, however, she gasped softly, causing Fox to glance in the same direction. The vulpine felt his jaw drop open and hang limp as he stared at the massive structure that loomed in front of the craft. A massive combination of stone and steel, the tower had been built into and from the surrounding mountains, yet seemed to dwarf them as it rose above its natural counterparts.

"W-w-whoa…" Slippy's quiet breathing of the word informed his friends that he had seen the impressive building they were approaching. Not that it was all that hard to spot, of course…the immense structure had a way of standing out.

"Not…not all that concerned about being discovered, huh?" Falco asked, a measure of her normal self finally returning. Peppy smirked back at her.

"Andross already knew that we were building a new base, so we didn't see too much sense in trying to hide it," he replied. "Not all that bad for being built out of scraps, eh?" he added to Slippy. "See, you're not the only one who can salvage things and build something incredible."

"I-I-I never said I was," Slippy retorted, nonetheless mesmerized by the sight of the base of the Cornerian Alliance. "H-h-how long did it take to build her?"

"Oh, she's still under construction, even now," Peppy told him. "But, as for the main structure…that was finished about four months after the assault. We needed to get the base up quickly to stand a chance. We keep adding new areas to house all the newest additions to the teams and such."

"L-l-like us?"

"Now hold on a second, Slips," Fox interrupted. "I never confirmed that we're actually going to join the military or anything…"

"O-o-oh." Slippy turned his gaze back to the road. "S-s-so where do I take her in, Mis…Peppy?"

"I'll call in for clearance," Peppy told him, silently thanking the amphibian for remembering. Walking over to the frog's side, he switched on the communicator and spoke into it. "This is Peppy Hare, requesting clearance to enter. I repeat, this is Peppy Hare…"

* * *

In his personal chambers, General Pepper paced the floor, nervously chewing on his lollipop as he awaited news about his old friend. Mentally, he berated himself: _I never should have let him go on this suicide mission. He might be dead now, for all I know! And all because I let him head out into God knows where to find a boy who is probably dead!_

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. Before he could collect himself, a female cheetah dressed in the normal attire of a communications officer burst into the room, nearly bowling him over in the process. Realizing that she had just run in on a superior, the shapely feline straightened her posture and stiffly saluted the canine, her bronze eyes still dancing with some secret glee.

"What is it, Amber?" General Pepper nearly growled. The force of her entry had made him drop his lollipop. The sweet was forgotten, however, as she grinned up at him, marched over to his personal communicator, and flicked it on. A familiar voice crackled over the radio, and the general felt his eyes widen into orbs.

"This is Peppy Hare, reporting in to Corneria Base. I have completed my mission, repeat, mission accomplished! Requesting permission to dock a small cruiser into base…"

"Well, commander?" Amber asked teasingly, arching an eyebrow at the canine, a smile still on her lips. General Pepper whirled to look at the officer, a rare grin on his face.

"Give him clearance, of course!" he demanded. The cheetah gave him a quick salute, turning to leave, but he called something else after her. "And broadcast his message on all frequencies as well! I know a few good pilots who would love to know that he's okay!"

* * *

Sable Lightfoot flipped through the sketches scattered over her cluttered desk with a growing sense of agitation. Too many projects to do in too little time, just like always. Normally, the curious young ferret would have loved working on one of her ideas: she liked exploring and discovering new concepts, new ways of doing things. But this was just too much, and on top of being the newest on the Arwing team…

With a sudden, impulsive scream, she thrust her paws under the huge stack and flung the whole mess into the air, letting the sketches fall around her in a shower of paper. One of the pages flitted too close to her nose, and she snapped at it, catching it in her mouth. Removing it, she recognized it as a portrait she had sketched of Peppy Hare a few days earlier. The sight of the veteran smiling serenely on the paper caused her foul mood to vanish, and tears sprang to her eyes as she wondered what had happened to her eldest friend.

A voice boomed over the intercom, causing her to drop the picture. Whirling to stare at the speaker, Sable nearly shrieked with joy. "It's HIM! He's okay!"

* * *

In her own private chambers, Rabbi's ears also pricked up as the familiar voice came onto the speaker, repeating his request for clearance. After a moment, however, she simply reached over and flicked off her communicator, throwing the room back into silence. The annoying noise gone, she turned back to her book.

* * *

Not far away, another spacecraft had picked up on the signal. The Venomian commander allowed a sadistic grin to cross his face before he gave the order to pursue the tiny ship. His hunch was proving correct after all…

One of his subordinates reluctantly approached him. Keeping just beyond arm's length, he relayed a question several of the fighters were asking: should they attempt to capture the tiny vehicle or just blow it away?

"Whichever is more convenient," the lizard hissed, waving one hand dismissively.

The lowly warrior gulped and promptly retreated, relaying the order to his fellow soldiers. The captain leaned backward in his chair and relaxed. It didn't matter to him whether Andross wanted the rabbit dead or alive: either way, he'd be pleased to know that the escapee had been taken care of. Perhaps there might even be a promotion in store for him after this…

* * *

"They've given us permission to land," Peppy told the trio, although there had been no doubt in his mind that he would receive it.

As he passed on the instructions to Slippy, the amphibian swung the small ship around, preparing. In the back, Fox and Falco gazed up at the imposing building, then exchanged glances.

"Looks like this is it, Foxy," the avian commented, glancing over at him out of the corner of one glittering aquamarine eye. "Just remember not to let yourself get too dazzled with the alliance. I'm not going to let you drag us into a bad deal."

"Y...yeah, don't worry," Fox replied, more to assure himself than her.

She smirked, then turned back to studying the building as they swept closer. The vulpine stared back up at the Cornerian Alliance's base, wondering how he was going to figure out his next move.

A shadow at the corner of his vision made him turn in surprise, still looking into the sky. His breath caught in his throat, and he managed to squeak, "Uh, guys...?"

Falco followed his gaze, and gasped, "What in the heck... Hey, Peppy, we've got a little problem back here!"

"Huh?"

"W-what…?"

Both Peppy and Slippy glanced behind them. The rabbit's eyes widened, and Slippy choked off a scream.

Realizing that he was still gripping the communicator, Peppy whirled around and shouted into it, "Alert! A Venomian cruiser has entered Cornerian airspace! We could use a little help out here!"

* * *

The lizard commander snarled triumphantly as he spotted the miniature cruiser below his own. Turning to his crew, he bellowed, "All units attack!"

* * *

"We've got a distress signal!" Amber yelled to her fellow officers. "Give out the order: all Arwings scramble!"

As the call echoed through the base, the cheetah threw a worried glance in General Pepper's direction. The canine had slowly leaned forward in his seat, paws tightening their stranglehold on the sides of his chair. A grim look marred the face that seconds before had been grinning.

Sympathy spread over Amber's face for a moment, then she set her mouth in a hard line, bronze eyes filling with determination. Spinning back toward her computer, the feline's fingers danced over the keys, rapidly spelling out a flurry of commands. At the same time, she tightened her grip on her communicator and repeated the same message.

"Repeat, all Arwings scramble! Venomian vessels approaching, friendly craft under siege! I repeat, scramble!"

* * *

Sable had practically exploded from her room the second Peppy's tone had changed from excited to fearful. The ferret sprinted down the hallways toward her Arwing, pausing only to bang upon a certain doorway and scream at its occupant, "C'mon, move it, commander!"

Without waiting to see if her shouts had roused the rabbit, she turned and bolted down toward the launching area, nearly slamming into one of the mechanics there. Vaulting into her fighter's cockpit, she gave the system a quick, customary once-over before securing her flight goggles over her suddenly serious eyes. Her Arwing's G-Diffuser whined as her ship shot out of the base.

"All aircraft check in," a stern female voice commanded, following with, "Rabbi here, all systems go."

"Glad you could join me, commander," Sable teased. "Sable here, no problems."

"This is Bill, checking in," the canine spoke up next, solemn blue eyes concealed by his sunglasses."

"Katt here, checking in," chimed in the pink-furred feline.

"This is Fara, all clear," the vixen confirmed, nodding. Her pale green eyes narrowed slightly as she caught sight of the enemy cruiser, and added, "Presence of Venomian ship confirmed."

"Right then, let's move out, team!" Rabbi commanded, swinging her Arwing toward the Venomian cruiser.

* * *

"F-F-Fox, you C-C-CAN'T!"

"Slippy's right, it's madness!" Peppy reached out and grabbed the young vulpine's shoulder. "Let the military handle this! They'll be sending their ships..."

"We may not have the time!" Fox insisted, shaking off the veteran's paw and climbing onto his airbike. Checking his blaster, he added, "We don't know how long it'll take them to get here, and I can buy us time. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

With that, he switched on the bike's engine and took off before Peppy could say anything else.

Falco watched him depart with an angry frown. Swinging into her own airbike, she took off after him, muttering, "If he thinks he's taking all the fun for himself, he's got another thing coming!"

Peppy turned just in time to see her depart the ship, unable to do anything except watch in shock. Next to him, Slippy stared at his friends as they flew off to intercept the approaching fighters, then turned frightened eyes to the rabbit.

"T-t-they'll be okay, r-r-right?"

Peppy couldn't think of anything to say to the amphibian. Watching the two airbikes blankly, he murmured a prayer for the safety of their drivers.

* * *

"Falco? What are you doing here? Get back to the ship!" Fox ordered the second he noticed the avian behind him, spinning to face her.

Ignoring his frantic command, Falco concentrated on taking out a Firebird that swooped toward the distracted vulpine. Fox turned back in time to see the twisted hunk of smoldering metal drop harmlessly to the ground.

"Just watch your own tail, Fox," she told him sharply, leveling a cool glance in his direction.

Fox could only nod in reply. Turning around, the vulpine began to target the enemy fighters before they could return fire. As the two fired upon their assailants, they kept swerving and dodging to avoid being locked onto.

* * *

"What in the name of Andross is going on here?" demanded the Venomian commander, seeing several of his fighters drop seconds after launching. Below him, his crew quivered with apprehension, and one of the lowly troops carefully approached him.

"Uh... a couple of airbikes came from the ship, and are flying near the launching area," he squeaked. "They seem to be taking out most of our fighters as they come out."

"WHAT?" The commander whirled on the soldier, eyes seeming to glow with rage. "How could you weaklings let this happen?" The officer cowered away, stammering wildly as his superior lunged for his neck.

"Well, s-s-sir, they D-D-DO have b-b-bazookas..." he started lamely.

His words were cut off as huge, muscular hands wrapped around his throat, and his legs dangled in midair as the enraged captain lifted his squirming body. A sharp snap echoed through the suddenly silent control room, and the remaining crew members shrunk away from their commander as he released the unfortunate's body, letting it slump to the cold floor. Indifferent to its presence at his feet, the captain spun to glare at his subordinates, who stared back at him with the same expression a mouse might use when watching a cat who had cornered it.

"What are you fools looking at?" he roared. "Get to your posts, and GET RID OF THOSE TWO!" Settling back into his chair, he added in a quieter tone, "And somebody clean up this trash," giving the corpse before him a kick.

The surviving members spun scrambled back to their stations, resuming their posts with an exaggerated attentiveness and energy. At the same time, they began to argue quietly among themselves about just who would tell their commander that a small squadron of Arwings had emerged from the base and were heading their way...

* * *

"Rabbi, something's wrong with the Venmies!"

Rabbi stared at the Venomian cruiser, a little surprised.

"I see what you mean, Monroe," she replied, keeping her confusion out of her voice. "It looks as though they're having trouble dispatching all of their forces."

"I wonder why," Fara said, watching the enemy's flying fortress with interest. Something strange was definitely happening near the launching areas: she could just barely make out what appeared to be explosions peppering the ship's hull.

"Looks like the guys we're supposed to rescue took matters into their own hands," the vixen observed after a moment.

"Heh, is that so? Guess a whole lot hasn't changed in six years," Bill commented, more to himself than to his team.

"This is no joke," Rabbi scolded. "We need to get over there and assist them in their retreat NOW. There's no way they can hold them off for long."

"Commander, you're speaking my language," Sable laughed, swinging ahead of her teammates.

The G-Diffuser in the ferret's Arwing whined as she zoomed ahead of the others, speeding toward the enemy warship. Within moments, she had reached firing distance, and a squad of fighters raced to meet her.

"Aw, don't go to any trouble for little old me," she taunted before opening fire. Nine Venomians fell for nine shots fired. A fierce grin spread across the ferret's muzzle, and she swooped down toward the launching area, quipping, "Next?"

* * *

"Falco, behind you!" Fox aimed quickly and shot down the fighter trailing the avian. She swerved away from the explosion and brought her airbike alongside his.

"There's too many of them getting out!" she swore.

"I know! Head back to the ship!"

"Not without you!" and Falco's eyes narrowed with resolve.

The vulpine sighed; there was no way he'd be able to argue the point with her. They'd both have to pull out, and pray they didn't get a laser in the tail before they got back to the cruiser.

"Okay, we'll try it. On three, we make a break for it. One... Two... Thre-"

Fox's voice was drowned out in the sudden whine of a strange aircraft's engine. The gleaming fighter tore through the air over their heads and began firing at the Venomians. The vulpine and avian stared in utter awe as the new ship weaved through the enemy's fire, its own lasers flashing out. Both knew instantly what it was: both had been raised seeing the same sort of ship almost everyday. Yet they were both spellbound by the sight of an Arwing...

"A-a-are you guys o-o-okay?"

Fox blinked once and stared down at the amphibian: he didn't even remember returning to the deck, yet here he was, standing next to his friend. He must have landed without thinking about it, he realized with a start. Glancing behind him, he could see Peppy, watching him with intense concern, and behind the rabbit was Falco. The avian was staring back at the battle rapidly fading into the distance behind them, watching as more Arwings swooped into the fray. Fox understood what she was thinking about.

"Are they going to be okay?" he asked Peppy, pointing back toward the battle. The veteran glanced back, then grinned at the vulpine.

"Oh, they'll be fine," he assured him. "They've handled bigger forces than that. Right now, let's concentrate on landing this contraption, eh?"

"R-r-right," and Slippy guided the ship around, following the rabbit's instructions. Fox gazed back at the Venomian cruiser, hoping for another glimpse of the Arwings.

* * *

"YEEEEEHAAA!" Sable trilled as she U-turned and blasted a fighter trying to tail her. The light from the explosion reflected off of her goggles, unnoticed by the ferret as she swept after another fighter she had just spotted.

"Lightfoot!" Rabbi's strict voice cut into her giddy mood like a knife. "Your previous action was completely reckless! Racing into a confrontation with enemy forces without permission! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Lay off her, Rabbi," Bill scolded. "She's just doing her job."

"Yeah," Katt added as she blasted a squadron of Venomians coming toward the small group. "Let the kid have a little fun, and let's concentrate on taking out the enemy, hmm?"

"Yes... you're right, Monroe," Rabbi admitted slowly. "You guard my six while I eliminate the guidance system."

Her Arwing broke away from the others and swooped toward the cruiser, Katt's ship directly behind her.

* * *

"Where the hell did those Arwings come from?" the lizard commander swore, staring out of the observation window at the conflict outside. Beneath his station, his crew shrank away from his wrath.

Suddenly an Arwing appeared directly in front of the window, racing toward them. The captain's eyes widened as he spotted the space fighter. Stumbling backward from the portal, he raised one scaly hand helplessly as the Arwing's lasers glowed.

"N-NOOOOO!" His scream rose into a wail as white-hot destruction seared into the window, piercing the chamber. The death-cries of the commander and his crew combined into one howl, lost in the roar of the beam of light.

* * *

Inside the cockpit, Rabbi watched her lasers tear into the command central with a grim satisfaction, pink eyes narrowed into slits. As she turned her back on the devastation she had caused, she switched on her comchannel and said curtly, "Mission accomplished. Give me your status."

"It's Katt, no serious damage," the feline answered first.

"Sable here, I'm okay," the ferret piped up next, frowning slightly. Her shields had taken a bit more damage than the others had, and she just knew the rabbit would take that as an opportunity to snipe at her later.

"It's Bill, no damage to report."

"Fara here. Looks like those guys made it back to base," the vixen observed.

"That's good," Bill sighed with an obvious relief. Katt, Sable and Fara echoed the sentiment: Rabbi remained silent.

"If everybody's fine, let's head back to base," was all she said in reply.

Sable resisted the urge to snap at her commander, and instead raced after her teammates as they flew in tight formation back to the tower. She had more important things on her mind than starting another confrontation with Rabbi.

* * *

Slippy guided the small ship into the docking area with a practiced ease. As he shut down its engines and let it slow to a halt, Fox surveyed the surrounding area with wide eyes. His heart had begun to pound against his ribs again, and the vulpine took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Nervous?" a voice at his ear inquired.

Fox nearly leaped out of the cruiser, and whirled to see Peppy at his side. The veteran pilot smiled knowingly at him, and put a reassuring paw on the vulpine's shoulder.

"Don't get so upset. I know you'll like the people here. They'll be very happy to meet you and your friends."

Fox didn't reply, but the reassurance helped him relax a fraction. Privately, he prayed that his father's old friend was right. Quickly gathering the few things he had thought to bring along, and after watching Falco trick Slippy into carrying most of her stuff, the vulpine followed Peppy off of the ship.

General Pepper was waiting at the bottom of the ramp for them, Amber standing at full attention on his right. Watching Peppy closely as he disembarked, the canine resisted the urge to throw his arms around the rabbit and cry about how worried he had been. But that was conduct unsuitable for an officer of his rank, and he simply saluted his friend instead, relying on the expression in his eyes to tell the rabbit how he felt. Peppy returned the salute, his eyes seeming to dance despite his stiff posture.

I have completed my mission, General Pepper," he told the canine as he lowered his paw. "May I reintroduce to you the only son of my commander James, Fox McCloud."

As he said this, he stepped aside and gestured almost grandly to a young vulpine descending the ramp behind him. Fox glanced at the rabbit with some astonishment, then caught sight of the canine commander and froze. The general stared at the boy as if he was seeing a ghost: the young vulpine's features were so eerily similar to those of the late James McCloud's as if to be a mirror image of the elder fox. The only noticeable difference was the slightly reddish tone of the younger one's fur, and the almost frightened expression on the boy's face as he gaped at the canine.

"What's the matter, boy?" General Pepper asked, both put off and slightly amused at the young vulpine's uncertainty. "I don't bite or anything of the sort."

The vulpine seemed to relax a little at that, and managed a sort of wistful half-smile in return. Pepper was privately deciding whether or not to offer the vulpine a lollipop when he noticed that the boy was not the only new arrival at the base. A female avian and a squat amphibian were standing just behind the fox, watching him intently. There was something vaguely familiar about the features of both, and while he assumed that the blue-feathered falcon was probably the fosterling James had looked after, he couldn't quite place the toad's face...

"This young lady is Falco Lombardi," Peppy was saying, "and the amphibian is called Slippy Toad."

"Toad?" Pepper asked, a spark of recognition glinting in his eyes.

Slippy took note of this and blinked, cocking his head to one side slightly in confusion. However, the general quickly schooled his features into a more solemn, unreadable expression, leaving the amphibian to wonder if he had seen anything at all.

As Slippy glanced away, lost in his thoughts, General Pepper took advantage of the distraction to regain his composure. Beside him, Amber managed to recover and whispered to him, "Did he say Falco Lombardi?" putting an emphasis on the last name. Pepper gathered his wits enough to nod in reply.

"James took her in after her family's massacre," he replied, not bothering to mention just who had committed the crime. "I doubt she remembers them, though: she was only five at the time... At any rate, it's best you not mention her last name to anyone."

Amber said nothing, merely nodding in reply. General Pepper turned back to the trio of new arrivals and was about to extend his welcome when he heard the sound of someone running toward the group.

He knew instantly who was coming, and stifled a grin as he whispered to Peppy, "Brace yourself."

Before the rabbit could answer, the breath was knocked out of him by the impact of Sable Lightfoot all but thrusting herself into his arms. The ferret made no pretense of rank, instead bursting into tears as she clung to her eldest friend and sobbed out her relief. Fox and his two friends stared at the seventeen-year-old in shock, obviously more than a little taken aback by her sudden appearance. Peppy looked just as stunned, yet managed to smile down at the girl and hug her in return. Amber laughed quietly, while the general reflected on the strange quirk of fate that allowed a young pilot to give Peppy the same sort of greeting Pepper himself had longed to give his friend.

"Peppy... I thought that I'd lost you," Sable finally managed to choke out the words as she gently disengaged herself from the rabbit.

She beamed up at him, laughing despite the tears brimming in her bright blue eyes. Seeing Fox and the others standing there as if for the first time, the ferret swung around and grinned at the new arrivals.

"Oh! I haven't seen you three around here before!" she said brightly, as though she hadn't been crying her eyes out seconds before. "How're ya doing? You must be Fox McCloud and his friends, right? Did you come after hearing about all the trouble here? I'm sure Peppy told you all about the Arwings and our plans to overthrow Andross. Hope you decide to help, but then I can't make you want to do anything, can I?"

She giggled wildly at this, with Fox, Falco and Slippy staring blankly at her.

"Oh, that's right, I haven't introduced myself!" Grinning, Sable reached out and took Fox's limp paw in her own, shaking it. "My name is Sable Lightfoot. You might remember me from a few years back; Billy's adopted sis?"

Fox shook his head slowly, still reeling slightly from the whole experience.

"No?" The ferret's face fell for a fraction of a second, then she immediately brightened, saying, "Oh well, never mind, you'll know me soon enough. After all," she smiled even wider and stuck out her tongue teasingly, "I'm an Arwing pilot too! Or maybe I should wait until after you've decided to join to say that? Oh well."

This went on, while Fox just stared at the ferret with an increasing sense of disbelief. For a moment, he vaguely recalled a similar scene: a much younger ferret bouncing around, bright blue eyes sparkling with joy as she played, chasing after them screaming for them to wait up… He felt a paw close over his shoulder, and turned to see the somehow familiar face of a gray-furred canine smiling at him.

The memories came back more swiftly for the vulpine this time, however, and he heard his own voice cry out, "Bill? It's really you? I thought you were dead!"

"Same to you, Foxy," Bill Grey replied mildly, then the two old friends realized that they were laughing in unison.

Within minutes, they were talking to each other as if nothing had changed, exchanging stories of what had happened to themselves during the intervening years as if only six days had gone by since they had seen each other last, instead of six years. Watching the conversation with a sense of disbelief, Falco and Slippy glanced at one another.

"Falco? Falco, is that you?"

"Huh?"

Falco turned to see a pink feline staring at her from a few feet away.

"Katt!" she exclaimed, shocked. Katt Monroe laughed and ran up to the avian.

"You haven't changed a bit in six years!" the feline grinned, "Just as beautiful as ever!"

Falco smiled in reply, then the two females began talking to each other just as Fox and Bill were, laughing and giggling, while Slippy stared in amazement. The amphibian shifted slightly, suddenly feeling left out. Seemed like everybody had someone from their past to help them feel right at home... save for him.

"What's wrong?" he heard a voice ask.

Looking up, Slippy saw the female cheetah that had been standing next to the general smiling at him. Sighing, the amphibian mechanic looked away.

Amber knew what was wrong. Pulling Sable to one side, she instructed the ferret, "Why don't you take him to see the engineering specialists? I'm certain he'll enjoy seeing all the new gadgets there."

"Sure," Sable beamed up at the cheetah, then bounced over to Slippy and grabbed his hand.

As the ferret led the surprised frog away, Amber laughed quietly to herself. There was no doubt in her mind that the girl would realize the real reason she'd been told to take the amphibian to the machines the moment she saw Beltino there. Glancing over at General Pepper, she felt a flush of pride when the canine nodded over at her, silently complimenting her on her work. A job well done, indeed...

* * *

Peppy silently detached himself from the others as old friendships were rekindled once more. Those loud, joyous voices somehow only caused his head to ache, and besides, the one person he wanted to see most was nowhere in sight. He crept out of the room, nobody noticing his departure. After a few moments of searching, he found the individual he wanted checking her Arwing for damage in a nearby room. Entering silently, he watched her work for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Rabbi..."

At the sound of her name, the tan-furred rabbit's head shot up, pink eyes flickering briefly with surprise, then narrowing in recognition. For a minute, she hesitated, then turned to face him, one hand resting on her Arwing's hull. Peppy slowly walked toward her, heart sinking as he noticed the carefully neutral expression she had schooled her features into.

"Yes sir?" The voice was as firmly controlled as the face.

"I just wanted to tell you... how thankful I am that you came to help earlier..." Peppy began, although he longed to say more.

"There is no need for thanks. My team and I vowed to protect all Cornerian citizens in need of assistance whenever possible. It was a matter of duty, nothing more." With that, she tried to slip out of the room, but Peppy caught her arm as she strode by.

"Is that all?" Peppy gazed intently at the younger rabbit, seeing how her avoided his eyes. "Is that all you have to say to me?" Still only silence. "Rabbi, I'm your father! Can't you at least treat me that way?"

When she refused to answer, the veteran pilot pulled her into his arms. Rabbi held herself stiffly in his embrace, refusing to react. Finally, he relaxed his hold, and the female rabbit broke free from his grasp and dashed into the darkness of the hall. Peppy watched her fade into the shadows, her retreating figure blurred by the tears that misted in his sad old eyes.

"Your mother would have been proud of you," he whispered to the empty doorway, suddenly looking extremely old.


	6. Re-Meeting Friends

Chapter Five: Re-Meeting Friends 

"I still can't believe you're really here, Bill!"

Fox shook his head in amazement, unable to quit staring at his old friend. The canine had brought the vulpine back to his personal quarters, and smiled back at him from the doorway leading to another room.

"I can't quite believe it myself," he said, striding back into the room carrying two cans of soda.

He flipped one over to Fox, who nonchalantly caught it in midair. The vulpine flicked open the can and tool a long drink from it as he gazed around the apartment-like room, obviously impressed by its size. Bill flopped down onto a worn couch and grinned at his friend's awe.

"Sweet setup, huh?"

"Yeah," Fox agreed, "much better than where I was living."

"Well, I hope so!" Bill laughed, taking another gulp from his soda.

He followed the vulpine with his eyes as he wandered around the room, looking at all of Bill's stuff. Fox smiled as he noticed a surfboard with green lightning streaks hanging on the far wall. Walking over to it, his ran his fingers lightly over its smooth surface and turned a grin toward Bill.

"Some things never change," he commented. "Still obsessed with the lure of the waves, I see."

"Yeah," but Bill couldn't keep a bit of disappointment from his voice as he added, "But I don't have a lot of time for that sort of thing now."

Fox stared at his old friend. "Why not?"

"Too much work to be done," Bill replied with a shrug. "It's not so bad. It's just that with working with Rabbi as an alternate pilot for the Arwings... on top with being commander..."

"WHAT? You're a commander? B...but you're only..."

"Nineteen?" Bill grinned at Fox. "I know, I couldn't believe it either when I got assigned. But that's what the man wanted, so... Actually, the Husky Squadron's a pretty cool bunch. A lot of young fighter jocks who got pushed into battle young, and got good at it instead of getting splattered. The general got impressed with us and grouped us into our own unit. I'm not the youngest in the bunch," he added, although he didn't mention that he wasn't exactly the eldest, either. Pointing to a shelf near Fox, he said, "There's a group photo on the counter next to you. Take a look."

Fox did so, picking up a long frame that sat by his elbow and glancing at it. Several rows of youthful faces stared back at him, standing at full attention, as if lined up for inspection.

"Mostly dogs here," he commented, although that fact wasn't what stood out to him the most. It was the expression frozen on those faces: one of a fledgling hope, of dreams and longings. The green-and-yellow uniforms they wore seemed to add an aura of borrowed adulthood to many of the cadets, like children forced to face harsh reality before they were ready. Exactly that, in fact.

Bill shrugged off Fox's comment, saying, "Well, that's why we opted to call it the Husky Squadron instead of the Chicken Brigade or something like that."

Fox laughed politely as he set down the picture frame, his gaze straying to the other photographs that sat on the counter. One of the photos caught his eye, and he picked up a picture of a ten-year-old Bill. The young Grey was holding a skateboard in his paws, and a Band-Aid was stuck behind his wide nose, eager blue eyes half-hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses hanging off-balance on his muzzle. Beside him, a ferret was grinning at the camera, dressed in an oversized tank top and shorts that matched the ones young Bill was wearing. Standing behind the two children were two older canines, beaming down at them.

"Your family," Fox said more than asked. Bill glanced at the picture the vulpine held and nodded.

"Yup. That was taken a few months after Mom and Dad adopted Sable," he said. Then, more quietly, "And a long time before we were attacked by Andross."

Fox lowered his eyes. He hadn't known that Bill was still alive until just a few hours before, yet he understood instinctively what his old friend meant by those words. An awkward silence fell between the two for a moment, and the vulpine gently replaced the photo on the mantle. There was nothing more to be said on the point.

"So," Bill swung his legs off the couch and tossed his empty can toward an overflowing wastebasket in one corner, "What do you plan to do from here, exactly?"

"I don't know," Fox confessed. "I'm not even certain why I came, to be honest. Part of me wants to join up with you guys and start flying, just like my father. But another part..."

He let the words trail off with a sigh, and his feet carried him to a chair near Bill's seat, where he flopped down. Bill gazed as his friend and echoed his sigh.

"Foxy... I can't tell you what to do," he said, getting to his feet. Fox looked up at him, mildly amazed that the canine had gotten so tall in six years. "All I can tell you is to follow what your heart tells you to do. I always have, and it's never steered me wrong."

Bill walked out of the room, calling back, "You can crash here for the night, and until they get you settled in. I've got somewhere to go. Back in a few minutes."

Fox watched his old friend leave, then closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. A nagging thought pushed its way to the front of his mind, and he whispered it aloud.

"But how will I know which way is right..."

* * *

Just as Bill had taken Fox to his quarters, so had Katt Monroe dragged Falco to her own room. The avian settled into an overstuffed armchair as the pink feline all but flung herself into a brightly colored beanbag. Falco gazed around at the countless posters of teen idols that wallpapered the room without comment, also choosing to ignore the pink tint that dominated everything in the chamber.

"Cool room, huh?" Katt prodded, sprawled out upside-down on her beanbag.

Falco remained silent, and Katt rolled over to get a better view of the bird.

"Oh, I get it: not exactly your style, right?" she said, not in the least bit insulted. "Hey, take a listen to this."

The feline dug a remote control out from under a pile of junk, pointed it toward a stereo set up nearby, and pressed a button. Instantly a fast-paced rock song blared out from the speakers. As Katt hastily struggled to find the volume control, she stole a glance over at the avian, who was gazing out the window, seemingly oblivious to the noise.

"Yo, Corneria to Falco; come in, Falco," Katt teased, causing the bird to glance back at her. A small smile spread across Falco's beak as she looked at the feline, then she resumed staring out the window.

"Well," Katt huffed as if upset, but she remained smiling. Even after six years apart, she understood that this was just the way her friend acted sometimes. Grinning playfully, she put on a teasing expression and cooed, "Hey Falco, remember how we met?"

That did it. The avian whirled to stare at her, eyes widened into orbs.

After a moment, they both burst out laughing, and Falco cried out, "Don't remind me! That was too much!"

Katt grinned happily, even as she felt her cheeks redden with remembered embarrassment. The two had met because of someone's playing a rather nasty trick on the feline when she was seven. This person, his name long forgotten by both, had informed her that the then nine-year-old Falco Lombardi was a really cute guy. Katt thought he was telling the truth, and her belief was further strengthened when she saw the avian for the first time, roughhousing with Fox and Bill. She quickly developed a crush on the cute 'guy,' and began following Falco around at school, finally working up the courage to invite the bird and 'his' friends to a pool party at her house. Imagine her surprise when her crush turned up wearing a frilly bikini instead of shorts. Afterwards, Katt had confessed her mistake to Falco, who shocked her by laughing it off and offering to help the feline set up her revenge on the one who'd misinformed her. The two ended up becoming close friends, something which Katt had seriously missed these past six years.

"So how are things between you and the boys now?" Katt asked once she had finally calmed down. "I bet they just loved being stranded with the most beautiful girl on Corneria for six years!"

"Shut UP," Falco howled in mock rage, though some of it was real. "Seriously, Katt, you know me better than that!"

"I know, I know."

"They probably DID enjoy it, though," Falco said, blushing slightly. "But let me tell you, Slippy acted like a real perv sometimes."

"No! Really?" Katt prompted.

"Yes," and Falco lowered her voice to a clandestine whisper, "In fact, one time, I was taking a bath in the pond, and he just walked right in on me!" Katt gasped appropriately, and Falco nodded gravely before continuing, "Of course, he said he didn't know I was out there, but I mean, does he really expect anyone to believe that sort of junk?"

"Really," and Katt nodded in agreement before asking, "So what did you do to him?"

"Oh, the usual," Falco said idly. "Screamed my head off, wrapped a towel around myself and tried to smash in his face. Of course, Foxy stopped me and told me to calm down. I think he was a little angry himself, though."

"I can imagine," Katt laughed. Then her expression changed suddenly. "Still, I wouldn't exactly mind being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a couple of guys who were totally gone on me..."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Katt," Falco warned, then rapidly changed the subject. "So you're an Arwing pilot now? Never thought I'd see a free spirit like you working with the army..."

"Oh, I'm not in the military," Katt scoffed. When Falco stared at her, she explained, "I'm just a mercenary. I cast my lot in with the alliance to destroy Andross. Nothing more than that. It's an okay job: free room and board, and I get a lot for each enemy ship I shoot down. Sixty-four bits a ship adds up fast."

"... Interesting..." Falco mused to herself.

"What do you mean by that?" Katt inquired, cocking her head to one side.

Ignoring the question, the blue avian asked, "So Katt, are there any cute guys in the service?"

The dodge worked: as the feline gushed a reply, the avian tuned out her voice and went back to thinking.

* * *

Slippy staggered down the hall in a daze, his eyes wide as he went over what had just happened in his mind. Looking back, he still couldn't believe it. The ferret girl --her name was Sable, right? -- had all but dragged him into a room where he saw countless new machines being worked on by crews of hundreds. However, Sable hadn't slowed down enough for him to get a closer look, pulling him along, babbling the whole time about how he just had to meet her mentor, the head of the engineering department, and just how wonderful a guy he was, even if he did make her work too hard sometimes on one of her sketches...

In a few minutes, they had apparently arrived, and Sable was banging on the hood of an amazing-looking tank. She called it the Landmaster, then banged all the harder on the side and yelled out a name: "Beltino! Hey, Chief! Beltino? YO! CHIEF! HEYYYYY BELLLLL-TIIIII-NOOOOO..."

Finally a latch had swung open and an irate-looking amphibian's head popped out. Grumbling something about loud-mouthed pilots, he had clambered down from his perch, glared at Sable, and yelled, "What the heck do you want?"

Then he noticed Slippy, and his mouth fell open. Staring up into a face which, despite its age, could have passed for a mirror of his own, Slippy felt his jaw do the same. Sable glanced swiftly at the two, then her eyes widened behind those tinted goggles and she started screaming.

"OH! It's you!" she'd cried, pointing at Slippy while staring at him as if seeing him for the first time. "You're the one Mister Beltino is always going on about! Oh man, oh man, oh man! You're his son! The son he said got lost and died six years ago! Only you're not dead, you can't be dead if you're here now, so you must be alive and living! And you're here now, so I guess you're not really his lost son anymore... well, you GOTTA be his son, you have the same last name and all, but..."

This, while Slippy saw his father for the first time in six years. Once Sable had finally calmed down (actually, once she stopped to take a breath), Beltino had quietly instructed her to leave them alone for a while. Miraculously, she obliged.

What had followed was a long father-and-son discussion. Beltino had wanted to know everything that had happened to Slippy during those intervening six years, and Slippy wanted the same thing from his dad. The two had talked for what seemed like days, yet the young amphibian could tell from looking at the clock that only a few hours had passed. The two had exchanged stories about how they had survived the attack, and both had cried when Slippy learned of his mother's death. Slippy explained how he had helped his friends survive, and got a strange happiness when he related his side of his little encounter with Falco and realized that his father fully believed him. The two had kept talking until finally Beltino had noticed the time and suggested that they get some sleep. Handing Slippy a slip of paper with a code on it, he gave him directions on how to get to his room. He told his son to go ahead and get some sleep: he'd be staying up a bit longer.

Now Slippy fumbled to press the correct keys and unlock the door to his father's room. As it slid open, the exhausted amphibian flopped onto the nearest piece of furniture and yawned loudly. As he shifted to make himself comfortable on the couch, he felt a sense of serenity come over him as he thought of his father. Suddenly, he didn't feel like he was quite so alone anymore, knowing that his father would be there for him from now on...

A sudden thought made his sleepy eyes snap open. He had someone there for him now, but what about Fox or Falco? Both of them had lost both of their parents: Fox to a car accident, and to Andross's hordes, respectively; Falco had never really known her family, being orphaned at age five.

Slippy sat straight up on the couch, a terrible thought slapping him across the face: Will_ they look at me differently now, because I have something they don't? Will they... hate me now?_

The thought lodged in his mind, refusing to be dispelled. Sitting upright in the darkened room, Slippy suddenly felt very alone.

* * *

Sunlight seeped through the shades and crept in thin shafts across the cluttered floor. The wispy beams streaked everything in the room with alternating bands of light and shadow. As the shafts expanded over a worn-out green couch, they fell across the relaxed features of a sleeping vulpine, setting the reddish-orange fur ablaze. The teenage fox groaned and shifted his weight, instinctively turning his back to the light.

A faint whishing noise announced a door's opening on the other side of the room, and an exhausted-looking canine with short ashen fur and wearing green pajamas that looked as though someone had splashed yellow paint on them emerged from the portal.

"'Morning, Fox," he yawned, stretching his arms wide.

Shuffling over to the window, he raised the blinds, allowing sunlight to pour into the room. Fox winced and tried to bury his nose in one corner of the couch, thinking murderous thoughts about the canine. These thoughts became progressively worse as the dog padded over to his side and began shaking his body, saying, "C'mon, Foxy, gotta get up now."

Finally, the vulpine gave in. "All right, all right, Bill, I'm up, I'm up."

Bill Grey nodded in drowsy satisfaction and stumbled back to his room to change clothes. Smacking his lips to get rid of the annoying dry feeling, Fox swung his legs over the side of the couch and, through a great concentration of will, forced his eyes open. As the glaring sunlight faded into a more tolerable glow, the vulpine glanced down at his outfit. He hadn't had any pajamas of his own, so Bill had lent him one of his robes. Fox nearly gagged at the sight of the banana-yellow fabric, but knew he couldn't just sleep with his clothes on. Not if he wanted to make a good impression on everyone here...

Yawning, Fox pulled off the yellow robe and tossed it in the general direction of a heap of clothes he'd noticed earlier. As he shrugged on his normal, slightly worn green shirt and pants, he stole a glance at his reflection in a nearby mirror._ Not half bad,_ he told himself as he secured a red bandana around his neck. _But I'll probably need to get some new clothes later._ With a final look in the mirror, Fox sighed and flopped back down onto the comfortable couch.

"Ready?"

Fox looked over to where Bill had reemerged from his room: the canine's eyes danced behind his customary sunglasses. He was in his normal uniform: a yellow and green flight suit with a matching helmet covering his head. Smiling at his old friend, Bill commented, "Looking good, Fox. But remind me to take you to pick up some more casual clothes later. Now let's get moving: I want to show you around before your appointment."

* * *

Falco Lombardi was already up and about by the time Katt awoke. The feline came slinking out of her room to find the avian up and dressed, sitting in the armchair watching the cat stare at her.

"How..." Katt finally managed.

"You know I like to get up early," Falco replied before she could finish. Glancing back at the feline, she added, "I hope you're not planning to go out like that."

Katt looked down at her puffy-sleeved, lace-collared, pastel-tinted pajamas and felt color spring to her cheeks.

"Of course not!" she all but screamed, ducking back into her room.

Falco smiled to herself, then turned and continued to scrutinize her appearance in the full-length mirror tacked to the wall. The avian carefully smoothed out her rose-colored blouse and scarlet pants, making certain that they complimented her beauty. Satisfied that her outfit suited her, she began to brush her plumage for the fourth time that morning, until the royal blue feathers practically glowed.

Katt yanked on a pair of jeans and a bright T-shirt with the words, "Love Never Changes" printed in bold pink letters across the chest. Giving herself the once-over in the mirror mounted on her door, she smiled and pranced out to meet her friend. The avian glanced back at her without saying a word.

"We'd better get moving," the feline said, seizing the bird's wing. "Let's go cut a path through the local male wildlife."

"Men," Falco muttered under her breath as she was pulled out the door into the hall. "Why not just show me around the place?"

"Oh... okay," Katt replied slowly. She was noticeably more subdued as they walked away from her room.

* * *

"Rise and shine, son!" Beltino called at the top of his lungs. Slippy woke up with a start and tumbled off of the couch. The elder Toad looked down at him a little sheepishly. "Er, sorry..."

"D-d-don't worry about it, d-d-dad," Slippy stammered, at the same time wondering if his heart would ever slow down again.

"Sorry," Beltino repeated, adding, "I'm a little rusty at this whole parenthood thing. Um... you want anything for breakfast?"

"C-c-cold cereal will be fine, d-d-dad," came the reply. Slippy was a little surprised to notice how hard the last word was for him to pronounce. The whole thing seemed like some unreal dream.

"Right!"

Beltino headed for the kitchen at once, leaving Slippy to adjust his rumpled clothes and wake the rest of the way up. After a few moments, the younger amphibian had gathered enough of his wits to stumble into the small room after his father and slump into a chair. Beltino grinned happily and slid a bowl brimming with some sugar-coated cereal to the boy, who dug into the cereal eagerly. Without even realizing it, the elder Toad watched his son eat with a strange blend of affection and disbelief.

Three sharp, staccato raps at the front door snapped him out of his reverie.

"I'll get it," he told Slippy, and strode toward the door.

It slid open to reveal Sable standing on the other side, dressed in a simple shirt-and-jeans combo, a cobalt jacket wrapped around her waist. Beltino blinked in surprise: even though he was used to her style of dress and easily recognized her face, she still looked more like a boy than a teenage girl. Her flight goggles were shoved back onto her forehead, several locks of blackish-brown fur sticking out from beneath it. The ferret grinned up at him.

"Heya Mister B! Is Slippy here?" she asked, peering around his body. "I've been asked to show him around a bit, then escort him to a meeting..."

"Slippy's eating now..." Beltino started, not exactly eager to hear the young girl launch into one of her long-winded stories.

"I'm done, d-d-dad," Slippy interrupted, suddenly hovering at the elder amphibian's shoulder. Sable smiled at him, then looked back up at Beltino.

"Well, that's great! We'll be going now, Mister B! See ya!"

Before Beltino could reply, the ferret darted down the hall, and Slippy squeezed past his father and went after her. The younger frog waved over his shoulder at him, disappearing after Sable. Beltino stood in the doorway, utterly stunned, for a few moments more, then sighed and retreated back into his suddenly empty-feeling room. As he walked into the kitchen, he barely glanced at the bowl of half-eaten cereal on the table.

* * *

"This is the hangar where my squadron keeps our ships when we're visiting here," Bill said as he swept one arm around, as if giving his friend a measure of the massive room.

Fox whistled appreciatively at the ships landed there, then turned to stare at the canine as something suddenly registered in his mind.

"When you're visiting here?..."

"Oops! Guess I forgot to tell you," Bill said with an apologetic grin. "My unit's stationed on Katina. At the last free base there, in fact. I just come here from time to time to check up on Sable, catch up on things, and when I'm on special call for an emergency."

"You mean you don't... live here?"

"No, you're getting it all wrong. Corneria's my home; it'll always be home. Only now they need me to serve somewhere else: on Katina. It's where I have to be... most of the time, anyway. Not when they need me to fly an Arwing for some mission."  


"But... doesn't that put a major strain on you?"

"Yeah," and Bill shrugged it off, "but I don't mind. It's what the Alliance needs me to do, so..."

Fox looked at his friend wistfully. "Bill..."

"Besides," the canine suddenly muttered under his breath, "the fight for Katina means a lot to me too."

"Huh?"

Bill paused a moment before saying, "You know how Sable's my adopted sis?" When Fox nodded, he continued, "Well, her folks were part of the Katina Colony Project. They were working with the Alliance to make the planet a hospitable world and all that. They lived in Katina Colony 01, the first base established there. Everybody figured that they were in for a new era, where people could live freely on Katina and other planets like it.

"But then Andross decided to attack." Bill's eyes hardened as he spoke the name, and his paws slowly began to clench into fists. "He wiped out all the colonies... just blew them all apart, poof, gone bye-bye. Only a few people made it out alive, and even then most of the survivors were horribly mangled by the bomb blasts. Sable was one of the lucky ones: she got out with her body in one piece."

"But her folks..." Fox breathed, the picture suddenly becoming terribly clear to him.

"Bingo. She and all the others had to be brought to Corneria, to try and start over. Mom and Dad found out about what had happened from their coworkers. They aided in the evacuation and reorientation of the survivors, and found Sable. She was only eight years old then... They decided to adopt her, of course, and brought her home. I didn't find out about her past until a few years later, after Andross attacked Corneria. I was looking through some of Dad's old records and found a report over what happened."

Bill slammed a fist into the pillar beside him, grimacing more with rage than with pain. "That damned ape made Sable lose everything she held dear. She had to lose her home and her parents, not just once, but TWICE!... If I ever get my sights on that monkey, I'm going to blow his brains out. _Slowly_."

Fox stared at Bill, alarmed by the sudden change in his friend. The canine was leaning heavily against the pillar now, his eyes cold steel behind the blackness of his shades. His normally cheerful face was contorted into an expression of barely controlled hatred, and his clenched paws seemed to tremble with a sort of energy.

"Bill..."

* * *

Falco followed Katt through the twisting halls and into a wide, populated area the feline referred to as "Corneria City, underground style." As she strode confidently down the pathways, she cheerfully explained how the Alliance had ordered its construction to house the citizens until the threat posed by Andross was taken care of for good. The avian, however, was more concerned with the looks the pair had been receiving from most of the men they walked by. The majority of those stares, some awestruck, some leering, had been directed toward herself, although her feline friend was receiving her own fair share of glances. Falco understood how men would be unable to resist her stunning beauty: nevertheless, it was annoying to say the least.

"Katt," she muttered, "Don't you think you should show me more of the base?"

"Later, later," Katt replied, waving away her protests. "I've got to show you this great new music store I found! And then there's this cool cafe I've been hearing so much about... and this absolutely fantastic clothing store..."

Sighing, Falco threw an icy glare in the direction of some guy she was certain had just leered at her, her boots clicking against the pavement as she followed the feline.

* * *

Not too far away, Sable was leading Slippy down a separate street in a similar way.

As she half-led, half-dragged the amphibian along, she continued to gush, "I just have to show you this place: it's fantastic! I know you'll enjoy yourself when we get there! Just you wait and see! Oh, wait, here we are!" She stopped short, nearly causing Slippy to crash into her back. Apparently not noticing his loss of balance, she grandly gestured to a building in front of her, saying, "Ta-dah!"

Slippy looked up and read the brightly colored sign over the entrance. "'Corneria Crusher: Rocking Video Arcade'. Huh."

Glancing into the window, he could make out what appeared to be thousands blinking lights and game consoles, most surrounded by packs of other people. Then Sable yanked on his arm again, and was pulling him through the door. Once inside, he nearly had to cover his ears because of the blaring noise. A thumping rock song pounded from speakers located in the walls, and various voices fought to be heard over the sound. Every now and then, a collective cheer or sympathetic moan would rise from one of the groups clustered around each game, depending on what had just happened to the person actually playing.

Sable cut a path through the herds of bodies, dragging Slippy along until he thought his arm would be permanently dislocated. Finally, she plunked down in front of a gigantic television screen featuring what looked like a row of strange pads wired up to its front.

The ferret told him, "Check this out: it's a fighting simulation game. It's totally cool. See, watch," she instructing, stepping onto the pad.

Taking what appeared to be a set of gloves, armpads, and kneepads from the front of the machine, she strapped them into place with a practiced ease. Pulling on a strange chest-plate that looked almost like a jacket, she winked at Slippy and repeated, "Watch."

She pressed a red button on the front of the machine, and suddenly the massive screen flashed to life. The frog's eyes widened as a fully rendered image of the feisty ferret appeared on the monitor.

"Neat, huh? This has to be one of my most favorite games of all time! You see," and Sable began to go through some practice moves, her double on the screen copying her exactly, "the way this works is, you move the way you want to, and your image does the same thing. You can practice fighting hand-to-hand without even getting hurt. You can choose to fight the computer, or, if someone else straps in like I have in one of those other areas, a living opponent! I've an expert at this," she added with a grin.

"Oh, is that so?"

Both Slippy and Sable turned to see a moose-like man towering over them, a patronizing sneer on his face. Slippy gulped as he noticed the thick muscles bulging under the guy's tight-fitting shirt.

"Yeah," Sable replied flippantly. The moose cocked an eyebrow.

"Think you could beat me?" he teased. Sable glanced up at him: she barely came up to his chest.

"Of course!" she grinned. Slippy's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as he stared at the crazy girl. She threw him a wink.

"Well, why don't we see about that," the moose said, a malicious grin spreading over his snout as he strode over to the next pad. As he strapped into his gear, Slippy sneaked over to Sable and whispered something in her ear.

"Well, of course I'll feel it if I get beaten," she replied. "These pads also feed back to create a feeling similar to being hurt if the double's struck. It's not as severe, though. Don't worry," she assured him. "That's only IF I get hit."

Not at all reassured by her words, Slippy retreated back to just out of the pad. Sable smiled at him, then flipped her goggles over her eyes and assumed a fighting stance. As both combatants tensed, a small crowd began to form around the game. A deep, digitized voice intoned the countdown: "Three... Two... One... FIGHT!"

Roaring a battle cry, the moose lunged forward on his pad. His double on screen leaped toward the image of Sable. At the last possible moment, however, the ferret tensed and, in a move too quick to follow, sidestepped away, leaving the moose's image to sprawl out beside her.

"WHAT?" bellowed the stunned bully.

Sable just smiled again, and her paws blurred suddenly. Her image began to pepper the towering man's with blows. Groaning, he swept one massive fist at her face. The ferret stepped backwards slightly, then reached forward and grasped the air. The crowd gasped as her double seized the other's fist, halting it in midswing.

Sable made a quick jump on the pad beneath her: on the screen, she leaped onto the doubled-over moose's back and vaulted off. Beside her, the bully grunted and struggled to his feet, only to cry out as the digital Sable's foot swung into his double's chest. He swayed slightly, obviously feeling the punches she rained down upon him while the crowd cheered and howled.

Slippy stared at Sable's swaying, weaving figure in total astonishment. It was as if the ferret knew exactly what her opponent was going to do seconds before the moose himself did. Her body twisted and rolled in a strange mimicry of the battle onscreen. Behind her tinted goggles, he could see her dancing blue eyes had narrowed in concentration, the only sign that she was under any sort of stress.

Finally her double ducked under a final, desperate attempt by the moose to take hold of her and threw an uppercut at his chest. The moose groaned as it connected, and he swayed on his feet for a moment before stumbling backward into the crowd. Those unfortunate enough to be directly behind him yelped and scrambled out of his way as he crashed to the floor.

"YOU WIN!" the digital announcer boomed, and a roar came up from the crowd as Sable pushed up her goggles and threw a grin and a thumbs-up in Slippy's direction. Not certain what to think or how to respond, the amphibian returned her smile shakily.

"Not bad, huh?" she commented, un-strapping the equipment and pushing it into the hands of the person nearest to her without even glancing in their direction. Hopping off the platform and rejoining Slippy, she added, "Like I said, I've had a lot of practice. We use a similar system to train for hand-to-hand combat, actually."

She paused, tapping the end of her chin thoughtfully.

"I guess that doesn't make it really all that fair for bullies like him… Oh, well. I won't tell if you won't!"

She winked impishly at him and giggled, making it clear that she wasn't really all that upset by the fact that she's shown up the moose in combat. Slippy felt a crooked, nervous half-smile twist his lips as he studied the laughing ferret.

Abruptly, however, she froze, and shot a horrified glance at her watch.

"Oh no! I forgot about the meeting! We'll have to hustle to make it!"

With that, and without waiting for Slippy to make any sort of reply, she seized his arm and took off, tugging him towards the exit.

__

One thing's for certain, the amphibian thought wryly as he followed after her. _Anyone that's friends with this girl had better not be too attached to their arms…_


	7. Flight Test

Chapter Six: Flight Test

Fox McCloud shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing around the massive room with a growing feeling of anxiety. He stared at a massive, blank video screen that dominated the wall before him, trying to figure out its purpose. He wondered why Bill had insisted on bringing him to this place; the canine had completely ignored his questions as they had walked to the room, saying only, "You'll understand soon enough."

A few minutes after they had arrived, Sable had come barging into the room, all but dragging Slippy behind her. The ferret had smiled lopsidedly at Bill, asking if she was late, and Bill had told her not to worry, that they still had to wait on Katt and the others. Satisfied, the girl had flopped into the seat next to Fox, and was currently playing with what appeared to be some sort of handheld game. Even as Fox glanced over at her, Sable paid him no mind, mashing the small plastic buttons furiously, staring at the small screen.

"Come on, jump!" she urged a tiny sprite on the screen --her character, Fox guessed. "Move it! Almost there... ooh... ooh... Oh no!" She cried out in disbelief as something flashed out and hit the sprite, causing it to collapse and the words "Game Over" to appear on the screen. "Where'd THAT come from?" she fumed. Selecting the 'continue' option displayed on the screen, she took a deep breath and began her monologue again: "Okay, THIS time I'll make it. Come on... come on... move it, stupid! Can't you run any faster?"

Fox sighed and looked over at Bill, who seemed to be completely ignoring the scene his adopted sister was making. The canine's attention was focused on the door as it suddenly opened. Fox turned to see Katt Monroe rush into the room. Falco walked more sedately into the room, and the vulpine noticed that she was wearing a new outfit. _Katt must have taken her shopping,_ he decided.

"That's a good color on you, Falco," Bill said, staring at the avian with wide eyes. Fox groaned silently and wondered why he hadn't said that the moment she had walked into the room. Not that she appeared to be paying any attention to the canine.

"Sorry we're late," Katt was apologizing to Bill and Sable, "but I wanted to show Falco that new clothing store... and then I just had to get her a few new things..."

"It's okay, Katt," Sable assured the feline, glancing briefly up from her game.

"We're not all here, anyway," Bill added, and Fox glanced over at him.

__

Who are we waiting for? he wanted to demand. But he thought better of it, and instead watched the door, waiting.

They didn't have to wait long. After a few more moments, the door opened once more, and Peppy Hare came into the room. A few strides behind him walked Fara Phoenix and another rabbit, and Fox stared at the latter in surprise. The female rabbit barely glanced at him, cold pink eyes narrowed calculatingly, as she strode past, and Fox drew back in his seat, suddenly wishing he was anywhere but there. He didn't like what he thought he had seen in that icy glance.

The tan rabbit strode to the far end of the room, standing beside another, larger metal door. Turning on her heels, she stood at rigid attention, shoulders straightened, her gaze resting on the door she had entered through, steadily ignoring the presence of anyone else. It seemed to Fox that Sable was glaring at the female hare, but when he looked sharply at the ferret, she was absorbed in her game. A sadness seemed to have come over Peppy, as well: he stood at the other side of the door, occasionally throwing furtive glances at the other rabbit.

Fox's attention was drawn back to the entrance as he heard the door slide open once more. This time, a pretty female cheetah dressed in an officer's uniform entered, and behind her...

Fox tensed, hearing himself inhale sharply. Walking in behind the cheetah was a tall, almost looming canine who walked with a certain, almost regal air. His head was held high, but not in a snobbish way, merely the way somebody who knew their importance and chose not to flaunt it did. Jutting out from his mouth was what appeared to be at first glance a cigarette; however, Fox looked closer and realized that it was the stick from a lollipop. The canine surveyed the group gathered before him, his solemn eyes resting briefly on Fox, and the vulpine quickly looked down at the floor.

"General Pepper," he heard Peppy say simply, "welcome. As you can see, we have gathered the three new cadets here."

__

Cadets?

"Thank you, Peppy," General Pepper was saying. Turning to face Fox, Falco and Slippy, he said, "I trust you have found your stay here to be enjoyable so far?" Fox nodded numbly, not certain how to respond, and the canine grinned a moment before his expression turned solemn once more.

"Well then, I'll explain why we gathered you here," Pepper said. "As Peppy has no doubt already explained to you, we are currently in need of talented young pilots to fly the advanced Arwing fighters against the vile Andross and his forces. Peppy has expressed to me his desire to see if you three have what it takes to become those sort of pilots. He has already given me a full report on how well you used your airbikes to combat enemy fighters, and has recommended that you be given a trial run. However..."

Fox tensed, feeling his heart increase its furious speed a fraction more.

"However," Pepper repeated, "due to the seriousness of our situation, we cannot afford to give you the normal years of training and studying we normally have our pilots complete. I know from your records that each of you were enrolled in the Academy before the attack..."

He left the sentence unfinished, pausing a few beats before continuing, "I have consulted with my colleagues, and they have agreed that it would be much faster and more effective to simply give each of you the test and see where your skills currently lie."

"Test?" Fox heard himself ask before he could contain himself. Flushing a sudden red, he wondered if he would be scolded for insubordination. However, General Pepper merely smiled gently down at him.

"A test we give to all cadets who wish to become Arwing pilots," he explained. "You use a computer simulator of a Arwing to see how well you can handle the system. We test your skills against another, randomly selected member of the Arwing squadron. The test checks your abilities in several areas, such as speed, accuracy, and combat."

"The first test deals primarily with speed. You will guide your Arwing through a series of randomly generated rings, trying to go as fast as possible without missing any rings. Any rings you miss will count against you. At the same time, one of the Arwing pilots will fly through the same course, racing against you. You may try to outfly them, if you wish, but don't sacrifice hitting the rings just to catch up!"

"The second part of the test focuses on accuracy. You will try to hit as many enemy targets as possible in a limited amount of time. Your experienced partner from the race will also be shooting the targets, trying to keep you from scoring. Any enemies they shoot down will not be counted in your final score. However, you cannot shoot your fellow pilot!"

"The final section deals with combat. Your partner throughout the first two sections will turn on you and attempt to shoot you down. You must avoid their fire and shoot them down instead. Don't worry," he quickly amended, "this is merely a simulator. No one will be injured or harmed in any way. And don't be too upset if you do get shot down: this is the hardest part of the test."

General Pepper finished speaking and looked at each of the three in turn. He could see that the young McCloud was defiantly nervous about the whole idea of being tested, but was struggling to keep his composure. The amphibian --Slippy Toad, Beltino's not-so-lost son, he recalled-- seemed just as nervous as the vulpine, but hid his fear more poorly. Only the blue-feathered avian seemed unconcerned, watching the canine commander calmly, no hint of apprehension in her intense blue-green eyes.

"Well then," General Pepper said at length, "shall we begin?"

Turning to look at Amber, he stepped back as the cheetah stepped forward and looked at a clipboard she was carrying.

"The first test scheduled is for Miss Falco," she announced. "You will be tested against Miss Rabbi Hare." She looked at the avian. "If you are ready..."

Falco got demurely to her feet and strode toward the far door, where the tan rabbit stood waiting. As the two entered, Fox shot a surprised look at Peppy. _Rabbi Hare?_

The veteran's face showed no reaction, save for a sudden sadness that flickered briefly in his soft reddish eyes. Fox stared at the rabbit for a few moments, then his attention was caught by the massive screen's flickering to life before him.

"You will be permitted to watch your friend's tests," Amber explained in that smooth tone of hers. "It may help you to understand better what will be expected of you. Also, you may want to know what has happened to your friend so you will be able to discuss the tests easier later. That seems to help some cadets relax afterwards."

Fox said nothing, his eyes glued to the screen. Beside him, Sable flicked off her game and stuffed the small console into her back pocket. Seeing the worried looks on both Fox's and Slippy's faces, she gently nudged the two and flashed them a grin when they glanced over at her.

"Just relax and enjoy the show," she teased.

Slippy started to reply, but the ferret quickly hushed him and directed his gaze back to the screen.

* * *

Rabbi led Falco to her simulated cockpit without a sound, silently pointing the avian to her seat. As Falco settled into the simulator, the rabbit looked over the younger woman with a growing amount of disdain.

__

So this is the type of child my fa... Peppy risked his life to find. A cynical smile flickered for an instant over her face: even in her mind, she wasn't quite able to refer to that old fool as her parent.

At any rate, it didn't appear to her that this silly little bird could ever make a decent Arwing pilot. She looked more like one of those brainless, ditzy girls who did themselves up in makeup and tacky, gaudy clothes and tried to drape themselves off of one of those fighter jocks that they deemed 'handsome' for reasons unknown to the straight-laced rabbit. The only major difference that Rabbi could see was that this girl didn't wear any makeup whatsoever and lacked the horrendous stench of tacky perfume that invariably clung to those silly dreamers. Not that it mattered to Rabbi: in her mind, the avian would simply never become a pilot of any worth.

Falco finished her preparations and waited quietly as Rabbi took her own seat in another 'cockpit' beside her own. A computer display popped up before the avian's calm eyes, prompting her to choose a color trim for her Arwing. She almost laughed at the question: as if that would matter! Still, the choice was there, so she quickly scanned the options and selected a lovely shade of scarlet that caught her eye.

Rabbi grimaced to herself as she noticed the bird's choice. So much for choosing her own favorite color. The colors were meant to help those watching the test quickly pick out which Arwing represented which pilot, so her preferred rose shade was out of the question. A minor problem, inconsequential really, but enough to further sour the rabbit's attitude toward Falco. Scanning the other shades, she finally settled on a deep navy blue, like the trim on her uniform.

The two Arwings materialized on the massive wall screen in the other room at the same moment that the simulator kicked into full gear. Falco and Rabbi were instantly plunged into the computer generated illusion that Beltino Toad and his colleagues had worked so hard to create. It was as if the two truly were strapped into actual Arwings, with the enormous amount of mimicked sensory data that assaulted their senses. The surrounding room faded into temporary oblivion as the two allowed themselves to be caught up into the illusion.

Rabbi risked a quick glance over at Falco, believing that she would see a look of complete bewilderment, perhaps even fear, on the avian's face. But if the blue falcon was frightened, she hid it well, for she failed to look even the slighted bit unnerved. In fact, she looked the exact opposite, for Rabbi thought she could see the tiniest bit of excitement gleaming in her aquamarine eyes.

__

No matter, Rabbi told herself. _ She'll learn soon enough not to take this so lightly._

The first course finished materializing before the two, and Rabbi instantly zoomed toward the first ring. Intent as a hawk diving for its prey, she swept through the exact center of the hoop, pulled herself around, and dived into next. She smiled as she glanced at the small meter that kept track of her speed: 536 skt/second. Not the fastest that an Arwing could go, but certainly an impressive rate to build up to and still keep her accuracy flawless.

Suddenly something blurred past her field of vision, cutting past her and swooping through the ring before her. Despite herself, Rabbi felt her jaw go slightly slack, and her eye began to twitch just barely.

__

How'd she pass me already? How could she pass me at all?!

"Look at that!" Sable blurted. Everyone else in the room was too stunned to make any sort of reply: all eyes were glued to the monitor before them. On the screen, an Arwing so realistic that Fox could barely believe it was merely a digital copy weaved and swooped through the shining silver rings that appeared in its path. Its bright red trim was a streak along its side as it steadily increased its speed.

__

M 1 and rising!

"I think," Amber whispered to General Pepper, "that this young Lombardi may be flying rings around Miss Hare."

Fox overheard the comment without meaning to: his attention was all for the image of his friend's test onscreen. The vulpine had unconsciously leaned forward in his seat, eyes never leaving the red-trimmed Arwing as it swooped and swirled in an almost graceful manner. Falco was obviously in her element in the air, and Fox caught himself wondering forlornly if he would be able to perform as well when his turn came...

"W-w-what's happening?" Slippy asked suddenly, snapping the vulpine out of his musings. Fox stared at the monitor in confusion as the scene seemed to shimmer out of existence, leaving Falco and Rabbi's Arwing suspended in mid-flight.

"The first test phase has ended," Amber explained, hiding a bemused giggle at their confusion. "Your friend did exceptionally well," she added as the image onscreen changed again. A series of discs began to materialize, starting to move slowly as they appeared. Their speed rapidly increased, until the small targets darted around like flies, in mimicry of scrambling enemy fighters.

Falco immediately blasted the disc closest to her, and suddenly her Arwing was swooping and swerving across the digital skies in pursuit of the 'enemy'. Her hyper lasers lashed out constantly, the majority of her shots connecting, and several of the targets de-rezzed into oblivion.

Fox and Slippy watched the monitor in silent, open-mouthed awe, completely floored by the knowledge that one of their best friends was the one causing all this carnage onscreen. Fox could almost picture how Falco looked as she blasted the enemies: her intense eyes narrowed, a triumphant smile on her beak, completely focused on her targets.

__

You brat, Falco! he thought to himself, a shaky grin coming to his face. _You never said anything about being such a great flyer! You never thought to tell us!_

Suddenly Slippy jerked beside him and yelled, "H-h-hey, that's not fair!"

Fox snapped back to reality and stared at the screen, instantly seeing what his friend meant. All through the second test so far, Rabbi had been racking up an impressive score of her own by shooting down discs in another area. But now the rabbit had brought her Arwing around and was actively trying to shoot down whatever Falco had currently targeted. Her dark blue lasers shot away the discs mere microseconds before Falco's red lasers cut through the same spot. It was painfully obvious what the rabbit had in mind: by destroying whatever Falco was presently aiming for, she was preventing the avian from scoring any more hits.

"That isn't fair!" Fox heard himself protest, and he swung to face General Pepper and Amber. The two officials looked obviously troubled, so Fox pressed his point. "It isn't right for her to do that to Falco! Make her stop!"

Amber gazed at the vulpine with worried eyes and replied, "I'm afraid that Miss Hare is allowed to do that, McCloud. Technically, the targets aren't considered to be Lombardi's unless she destroys them. It's perfectly fine for Miss Hare to target and shoot whatever she wishes to."

"But..." Realizing he would get no help from this approach, Fox looked back at the screen. Rabbi had slowly increased her attacks, and more often than not destroyed what Falco was aiming at before the avian could fire. Fox could sense Falco's growing frustration, and he clenched his paws into helpless fists as he watched her struggle to squeeze a few kills in.

"Come on, Lombardi, you can take this! Show that thieving brat what REAL pilots can do! Go!"

Confused, Fox turned to see who was shouting, wondering how they knew what he was thinking. Sable Lightfoot was standing directly behind him, wickedly flashing blue eyes locked on the monitor. Her paws were balled into tight fists, and she screamed at the screen, her angry shouts loud enough to probably be heard in the testing room.

"I know you can do this, Falco!" she encouraged at what had to be the top of her lungs. "Just because that thief doesn't play fair doesn't mean you can't win! Show her how skilled you REALLY are! Come ON!"

In the simulator room, Falco grimaced in frustration as Rabbi blew away another target she had just locked onto. _This rabbit is definitely proving herself to be very annoying,_ she thought. _Better stop playing around._

She focused her laser sights on another disc, and waited until she was certain that Rabbi had locked onto it. Just as the rabbit was about to fire, Falco suddenly swung around, locked onto another target, and vaporized it before the other could react.

"What?" Rabbi exclaimed. While she stared at the de-rezzing remains of the target in surprise, Falco whirled back around and shot down the disc she had targeted before the rabbit could think to claim it herself.

"Smooth move," Amber commented under her breath, arching an eyebrow as she glanced over at General Pepper meaningfully. Sable, meanwhile, was praising the maneuver much more openly, cheering and waving her arms in the air, ignoring the fact that the others were all staring at her display.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! That'll show her! Shoot 'em all down!" the ferret yelled, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Fox gave the girl a look of pure disbelief; he had thought that only Slippy had that kind of energy. The amphibian seemed just as shocked by this display as Fox was, while the others in the room were apparently much more used to Sable's outbursts. Stealing a quick glance over at Bill, Fox noticed that the canine was shaking his head and muttering something that the vulpine couldn't quite make out.

Finally the screen faded out again, ending the second phase of the test. Fox stole a nervous glance over at Amber and the general, who were looking at something the cheetah was writing on her clipboard. Sable tugged roughly on his arm, alerting him to the fact that the final section was starting.

"Here we go," she told him as a new arena formed around the two digital Arwings.

The blue-trimmed one made the first move, zooming toward Falco with her lasers blazing. The avian rolled away, and the two became near blurs of red and blue as they swooped in and around one another, lasers flashing occasionally. Those gathered in the room watched in near silence as the two fought, weaving in and out of light beams while trying to shoot the other down, neither appearing to have a clear advantage over the other. Even Sable was quiet, although her eyes shone with a strange energy as she watched the onscreen battle.

Finally crimson lasers tore into navy-striped metal, and Sable let out a whoop of excitement as Rabbi's Arwing dropped to the ground. Fox and Slippy stared up at the monitor in complete shock for a moment, and then suddenly the amphibian joined the ferret in cheering Falco's name.

Back inside the testing room, Rabbi's reaction was considerably different. She stared out into space even as the digital illusion faded away, allowing the room to come back into view. The side of her face twitched slightly, and her mind shrieked a thousand protests.

__

This is impossible! How could I have lost to that b-BIRD!

She got out of her mock cockpit in a sort of dazed stupor, one she snapped out of the moment her gaze happened to rest on the avian. Her pink eyes narrowed into slits, and she glared over at Falco as the avian strode by her and back out of the room. Falco ignored the look completely, and rejoined her friends in the other room.

"That was great, Falco!" Sable cheered, beaming at the falcon as she entered. "You really showed Rabbi!"

As she said this, the ferret glanced over at the rabbit and grinned at her, although this smile was not as friendly as the one she directed toward the avian. Rabbi ignored the look and stalked past them, leaving the room. Peppy watched her leave with a regretful expression on his face.

"Very well done, Miss Falco," Amber commented, making a few notes on her clipboard. She flipped the page and read, "The next test will be for Mister Slippy Toad. Your test will be with Miss Katt Monroe."

Throwing a furtive look back at his friends, Slippy got to his feet and followed Katt into the testing room. Sable grinned back at him, calling out reassuringly, "Don't worry, even if you do get shot down. Katt's a really good pilot."

* * *

__

Was that supposed to be reassuring? Slippy couldn't help but wonder as he settled into the mock cockpit and picked an interesting teal color for his Arwing's trim. Katt, not surprisingly, chose a bright pink trim, and the scene shifted at once to the speed test that they had watched Falco take earlier.

Fox and the others watched as the two swooped through ring after ring, and the vulpine winced as Slippy narrowly missed crashing into the edge of one. In some respects, the amphibian was doing quite well, actually keeping a little bit ahead of Katt's Arwing, but her attempts to get past him were nearly forcing the frog to miss or crash into the rings as they darted through them.

Slippy groaned as the left wing of his ship clipped into one of the rings, and the mock cockpit shook in mimicry of what it would feel like in real life. Inwardly he wondered if he was doing as bad as he thought he was.

Katt arched an eyebrow, swerving to get past the amphibian's ship and failing to find an opening. "Well…he may not be as good as Falco was, but he certainly has some potential. Not everyone is able to keep me behind them like this…"

The first test ended, and the display before them wavered and changed, transforming into the second area. Katt immediately picked one area and started shooting down discs there; she was not about to copy what Rabbi had attempted earlier. Slippy tried to follow her example, and blue hyper lasers tore into spinning targets as he fired again and again.

__

I'm still not doing as well as Falco did, an inner voice whined. _Maybe I'm not cut out to be an Arwing pilot…_

"He's doing quite well, really," Amber whispered over to General Pepper.

The canine nodded slightly, eyes never leaving the screen. In front of them, Sable was amusing herself by counting off each target that either one hit, chanting, "One little, two little, three little Venmies, four little, five little, six little Venmies…"

"Does she know how incredibly annoying she's being?" Fara whispered in Bill's ear. The ashen-furred canine shook his head, his expression half-exasperated, half-amused.

Finally the second test ended, and Slippy gulped as the scene faded into blackness for a moment. He had no idea that, outside, Fox had done the exact same thing, with his eyes nervously locked on the monitor.

Then the world came back, and all hell broke loose onscreen. Katt unleashed the full force of her lasers, and Slippy cried out as he attempted to weave a path through the relentless firing. Fox clenched his paws into helpless fists, his eyes wavering with fear as he watched his friend struggle. Beside him, Falco was watching the scene with her arms crossed, while Sable had fallen silent as she stared up at the scene.

"Well…he's really good at dodging, at any rate," she quipped, grinning nervously at the others.

That was about the time when one of Katt's lasers connected, and the ferret grinned nervously as Fox and the others glanced over at her.

"I'll shut up now," she whispered weakly.

To his credit, Slippy did manage to squeeze off a few shots that tore into Katt's wings even as he crashed to the ground. Still, the amphibian came out of the testing room with his head bowed, shuffling back to Fox and the others.

Katt walked alongside him, draping one arm around his slumped shoulders for a moment as she whispered into his ear, "Don't worry. I got shot down during my test too. You did really well, kid."

Her words of encouragement seemed to have little effect on the frog, however, and he slumped into his seat next to Fox while Katt shrugged and went over to where Bill and Fara were standing. Sable grinned at Slippy, obviously trying to raise his spirits, and complimented him on his work during the speed test.

"The last test will be for Mister Fox McCloud," she announced, flipping to the proper sheet. As the vulpine got to his feet, she added, "Your co-pilot for this will be Mister Bill Grey. If you would please go into the testing room…?"

"Break a leg, Fox!" Sable cheered, waving at the vulpine as he and the canine headed into the other room. "You too, big bro! Don't go easy on him just 'cause he's your friend!"

__

Oh, great, Fox thought, glancing over at Bill nervously. Behind him, he could see that everyone else in the room was watching him. Falco's expression was unreadable, her wings crossed over her chest, while Slippy was wishing the vulpine luck. Fara and Katt were watching Fox's every move and talking to one another in excited whispers. Peppy smiled reassuringly, as did Amber and the general, but that did little to calm the vulpine's nerves as he walked into the testing room.

* * *

__

I guess I'll use yellow for my Arwing, Fox decided, selecting a shade. His favorite color was actually green, but he was certain that Bill would prefer that himself, so he didn't want to take that option away from him.

__

…Akk! That's not yellow! The vulpine sweated as he noticed that the shade he thought had been a nice dark yellow had turned out to be a bright gold instead. Fox groaned, rubbing his forehead. Probably the others would assume that he had deliberately chosen that color to stand out more.

Well, it was too late to do anything about it now. Sighing, Fox tensed as the display around him shimmered, then shifted into the setting for the first course. Instantly, he started his Arwing forward, catching a glimpse of a verdant-trimmed Arwing out of the corner of his eye. An image of the gray-furred canine appeared on his com-link, grinning from ear to ear.

"Nice choice, Foxy," he commented, a friendly smile on his muzzle. The green-trimmed Arwing darted forward through the center of the first ring, and he called, "Think you can keep up with me?"

Gritting his teeth, Fox darted after him. Within the space of a few moments, he managed to squeeze past Bill's ship, and an excited grin broke out over his face despite his nervousness. This was much better than he had ever dreamed. Real or not, he was actually piloting an Arwing! He swooped through ring after ring, then suddenly…

"Hey!" Fox cried out in protest as the green-trimmed Arwing zipped past him, cutting him off. A grinning Bill reappeared on the com-link, taunting him.

"Come on Fox, you can do better than that!"

"I'll show you," Fox muttered, smiling despite the dangerous tone of his voice.

His G-Diffusers whined as he sped up, flashing past Bill's Arwing after a moment. The two friends began jockeying for position, with one gaining the lead, then the other. Outside, the others watched the two trade spots several times, surprised. Sable cheered for one, then the other as they moved back and forth.

"YEAH! Go Fox…oops, I mean Big Brother! You can beat 'em, B…Fox! YEAH!"

"D-d-does she always act like this?" Slippy asked, looking over at Katt and Fara. The two girls nodded in unison.

The first phase ended, and Fox tensed up again as he waited for the next section to begin. As soon as the screen changed, he raced forward, his lasers flashing as he picked off one disc, then another, then three more, in rapid succession. Not far away, Bill was also racking up an impressive score.

"His father's aim," Amber commented, glancing over at General Pepper and Peppy as she said it.

The two were watching the screen, and barely seemed to hear her remark. Sable, meanwhile, had picked up her little chant again, much to Fara's apparent displeasure.

The second part finally ended after a while, and Fara had to keep herself from applauding when Sable immediately shut up. As the screen changed again, she unconsciously leaned forward, eager to see how well Fox would do.

The two Arwings began to weave and swoop, each squeezing off shots at the other as they attempted to dodge at the same time. Gold and green lasers flashed through digital skies, most narrowly missing their target, but some managing to connect occasionally. Sable jerked and gasped each time a beam found its way home, while the others watched more quietly, but with just as much interest in what was happening.

Suddenly Slippy and Sable cried out in unison as verdant lasers tore into gold-striped metal, and a wing plummeted to the ground. Fox screamed as he felt his ship start to lose control, and as the Arwing started to follow the same path that the wing had taken, he brought the nose of the ship around and fired one last shot off at the green Arwing.

"What the he-" Bill started to exclaim, then his words were abruptly cut off as golden lasers tore into his gas tank, and the green-trimmed Arwing exploded.

Fox stared up at the de-rezzing ship in shock as it rose above him, Bill's shout ringing in his ears. This was only a test, he knew that; it wasn't like Bill was really dead.

But that didn't make the screaming all that less terrible. Fox almost welcomed the sudden release as his own Arwing exploded, and the scene faded into darkness. For a moment, the vulpine sat in the mock cockpit, breathing hard, his eyes wavering as he struggled to put the vision of Bill's Arwing going up in flames out of his mind.

Then Bill was opening up the side of the cockpit and helping him climb out, smiling happily. As if Fox had not just blown him to bits in the simulator.

"Hey, Foxy, nice shot," he complimented the vulpine, like it had been a regular Venomian ship that he had just sent into oblivion instead of the canine.

Uncertain of how he should act, Fox managed a shaky smile in return, and Bill cuffed him lightly on the back as they walked out of the simulation room together.

"Thank you for your time," Amber said, bowing politely to the vulpine. "We'll be analyzing your test scores and will inform you of the results soon. Please continue to show them around the base," she told Bill, Katt, Fara, and Sable.

"Sure thing!" Sable said, and she latched onto Slippy's arm again and tugged him out the door.

Katt led Falco out in a less forceful, but just as insistent manner, and Bill smiled over at Fox and offered him his hand.

"Wait, Bill," Fara said, stopping the canine by grabbing his arm gently. Bill glanced over at her, but she smiled at Fox as she said, "Why don't I take over showing him around for a while?"

Somehow, Fox wasn't sure that he liked the sound of that.


	8. The Bargain - Reformation

Chapter Seven: The Bargain – Reformation

"Well, what do you think, General?" Amber asked, looking over at the canine.

The cheetah had returned to her commander's office, along with the veteran Peppy Hare and the general himself. The trio was currently discussing the new arrivals, and what exactly should be done with them. A set of files lay on the desk between them: the results of the tests they had just administered.

"You know what I think," General Pepper replied, sitting at his desk. He fingered the test results that lay before him nervously, his eyes locked on the cheetah's face. "Those three had excellent marks on their tests. I really believe that they would be a great assistance to us. However…" His gaze flicked over to Peppy, who was sitting beside Amber with his arms folded across his chest. "From what you reported about them earlier, Peppy, I'm not all that certain that we could convince them to join the military."

"I don't think that Fox would be all that hard to convince," Peppy reminded him, a frown coming over his face as he added, "However, as for his two friends… Falco doesn't seem all as interested in the service as she is in flying an Arwing against Andross, and Slippy, while he would probably follow Fox anywhere he goes, would have a difficult time dealing with the stresses of serving under another's command."

"Yes, Rabbi can be quite difficult to follow," Amber agreed. Seeing Peppy's expression, she quickly amended, "Oh, I'm not saying that she's not a good leader, it's just that…"

"It's okay, Amber," Peppy interrupted, shaking his head. "I understand where you're coming from. I know that she can be…difficult. It's nice to be reminded of that sometimes."

"I would try to assign Fox as the leader of the squad," General Pepper said, "but if I did that, everyone would assume that he had gotten the position because of his father…"

He raised up his hands to show his helplessness, and the three sighed and looked downcast. Amber shook her head.

"Part of it is definitely because of his father," she muttered under her breath.

Unfortunately, it had apparently not been soft enough, as Peppy instantly shot her a cold look, his reddish eyes narrowing slightly in disgust.

"Don't insinuate that he isn't earning it," he muttered, fingering some of the papers showing the young vulpine's results.

"I didn't say that," Amber returned coolly, matching the veteran's glare. "But you do have to admit that there is a certain allure of having a McCloud leading a reborn Starfox team. It would make a fine symbol of new hope for Corneria…"

"Not if he couldn't fly worth a damn," shot back Peppy. Keeping his voice carefully controlled, he went on, "It's obvious from his results that the boy has a lot of talent. And from what I've seen, he is fully capable of leading a team. All one needs to do is look at how he's kept his friends alive and safe when they were on their own for so long…"

"Yes… He's very used to leading his friends," Amber agreed, though something in her tone indicated that it wasn't on the same level that Peppy intended. "But those are his friends, after all. What about a team of pilots who are used to following a very different leader – one who wouldn't be too pleased with being replaced."

"…Rabbi…"

"Yes, Rabbi," echoed Amber, eyes narrowing into slits. "You know very well how she would perceive being replaced by McCloud, Peppy. No matter what explanation we gave her, she'd be certain it was merely because of the weight of his father's name. She could very well instill this same belief in the populace if she wished. If that happened… if the public thought that a slip of a boy with no real experience was leading what may be our last chance to stop Andross by virtue of a last name alone…"

"………"

Satisfied that her message had gotten across, Amber leaned back in her seat and wearily rubbed two fingers against her aching forehead. The cheetah hated arguing like this, but such matters had to be considered. No matter how much they needed pilots willing to fly the Arwings…

"Perhaps…perhaps there is a way that they could both be leaders," Peppy said at length. General Pepper and Amber looked over at the rabbit, and he asked, "Do you remember how I told you that Fox mentioned that he didn't want to drag his friends into military service?" When they both nodded, he continued, "Well, I was thinking about the current team that we have, and I remembered that Miss Monroe said something similar back when we were trying to recruit her. She wanted to fight against Andross, but wasn't all that thrilled by the idea of becoming an 'army grunt,' as she called it. So…"

"You think we should offer Fox and his friends the same deal?" Amber asked, her bronze eyes lighting up. The general sat up, a slow smile spreading across his muzzle as he looked at the rabbit.

"Bingo," Peppy replied, grinning. "We offer them free room and board, supply them with a few Arwings and maintenance, say we'll pay them a fixed amount for every Venomian ship they shoot down, and there you have it –a solution to our little problem. They get to fight without feeling tied down, and the alliance gains three new allies in our battle."

"Brilliant!" Amber exclaimed, and the cheetah actually started clapping. Peppy seemed to be awfully proud of his idea, and the rabbit leaned back in his chair, grinning.

"It sounds nice in theory, Peppy," General Pepper spoke up, "but there might be one small problem with it." Both Amber and Peppy stared at him, and the canine sighed as he asked, "How do you think Rabbi will react to this?"

The cheetah and the rabbit exchanged glances.

* * *

Rabbi Hare marched up the hallway, the heels of her metallic boots clicking a sharp, staccato rhythm against the hard floor. _Whatever the general has summoned me for must be important_, she told herself as she made her way to his office, _considering the way he sounded over the private com-link. Does he have a new mission for me? Or…_

Rabbi grimaced as she realized the far more likely cause. _Those silly kids that Peppy brought in yesterday, the same three that he keeps insisting will make good pilots. I bet the general wants to inform me that they've been assigned to my unit. Well, he can just forget it! I don't care how lucky that bird was during her test; those three will never make decent pilots! I'm having enough trouble with that bratty child Sable to deal with them!_

The rabbit's frown grew deeper as she thought of the ferret, and her tight march became more of a stomp as she continued down the hallways, making her way toward General Pepper's office. Sable was a child in her eyes, and would always be nothing more than a child. Never mind that the girl was seventeen, more like seventeen and two-thirds to be a bit more precise; never mind that she was an extremely talented Arwing pilot with great reflexes and an eagerness to help fight; never mind that she had been skilled enough to blow Rabbi herself out of the sky during her test much in the same way that the _bird_ had. She was still an immature child; a little whelp with a boyish build and a bubbly personality that grated on Rabbi's last nerve, and in the rabbit's mind that de-regulated the ferret to the status of snot-nosed brat.

Rabbi's mind was still whirling with dark thoughts about Sable and the trio of little upstarts when she reached the general's door, and it took all of her self-restraint and discipline as an officer and commander to keep from banging on the door with her clenched fist. Instead, she knocked demurely on the metal surface, and waited for it to slide open.

The first detail that she noticed was that Peppy was there. Rabbi immediately made a point of ignoring him, and the elder rabbit sighed to himself and looked anywhere but in her direction. She saluted General Pepper, eyes locked on him. Amber saluted Rabbi stiffly; the cheetah apparently not all too thrilled by having to give her such formality. Not paying any attention to her either, Rabbi instead looked at General Pepper, trying to read his expression.

She could see it in his eyes. _They are going to make those three pilots!_ Rabbi stewed silently, although she managed not to let her outrage show on the outside. She forced a smile and said through clenched teeth, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes…Rabbi, do you remember the three that we tested earlier today?"  


__

Oh God, here it comes. "Yes General," she said, keeping her voice even.

"Well, I was discussing their results with Peppy and Amber, and we believe that they would be a great asset in our fight against Andross."

__

Yeah, right. "Will you be assigning them to my team, then?" _Don't scream until later, don't scream until later…_

"Well…not exactly…"

General Pepper shifted slightly in his seat, wondering why this girl sometimes could make him so uncomfortable. He certainly had her attention now, at any rate; her pink eyes were suddenly locked onto his face, as if searching for something.

"We believe that they would be more comfortable working as a sort of mercenary team," Peppy informed her, unable to meet his daughter's piercing gaze. "I'm certain that you remember the contract we entered with Miss Monroe to have her join your team… Well, we think it would be best if we had a similar agreement with Fox and his two friends. I believe that it would be a better way to gain their services, instead of trying to force them into becoming part of the military."

"Is that right…" Rabbi mused.

"Of course, they would be a completely separate unit from your own," Amber informed her. "Mister McCloud would command his two friends, while you would continue to lead your own team. Would that be satisfactory with you?"

Rabbi said nothing at first, her pink eyes narrowed into thoughtful slits. At length she said, "Yes…but you should make certain that there is someone a little more experienced with them. High scores in the simulation don't necessarily mean that they'll be able to fight immediately. Someone should be with them, someone who has at least a little bit of experience who can show them the ropes and help them along."

"Do you think that Katt should be assigned to their team?" General Pepper asked.

However, the female rabbit shook her head violently. She fixed the canine with her cold stare, and he found himself fighting the urge to shrink back in his seat as he noted the icy smirk that tugged at the corners of Rabbi's lips.

"No…I have the perfect candidate in mind…"

* * *

"Yes! My level went up!" Sable cheered as a triumphant melody played on her television's speakers.

She pumped her arms in the air, whooping as she quickly saved her game to a new file. Picking up the controller again, she was about to start the next level when a sharp rapping on her door caused her head to turn.

"Good thing I just saved," she commented as she switched off her video game system.

The ferret attempted to pick her way through the clutter on her floor, but ended up yelping as her toe collided painfully with something hard hidden beneath a bedsheet. She stumbled to one side, and her shoulder banged into her desk, causing the mountain of papers piled there to start collapsing.

"Oh no, hold on, hold on," she stammered, hastily trying to push the papers back into place.

The rapping echoed through the room again, and she gave up on that, letting the mountain cascade to the floor as she hopped over to the door. Nudging her feet into her metal boots, she yanked open the door and shouted, "What?"

"Uh…General Pepper wishes to see you in his office," a very startled looking lupine told her.

As Sable yelped and slammed the door shut in his face, the wolf could hear her crashing around inside as she rushed to make herself presentable. After a few moments, the door was flung roughly open again and the ferret burst out, running in the direction of the canine commander's office. The lupine cadet shook his head and grinned as the door automatically slid shut on its own. Sable may hold a higher rank than he did, but she still apparently had the same fear of General Pepper's wrath that many cadets like the wolf possessed. Laughing to himself, the lupine walked back to his own bunker.

* * *

"So why did you to bring me here, Miss…"

"My name's Fara Phoenix," Fara told the vulpine, a slight smile on her face. "This restaurant happens to have a fantastic reputation. All of my girlfriends say that the food here is terrific. I thought I'd treat you to a meal, since you're new here and all."

"Really? That's really nice of you," Fox said, his eyes lighting up. Suddenly he frowned, and he asked, "But shouldn't we have brought the others with us too?"

"No, Katt told me that she'd already made plans with Falco for the rest of the day, and Sable said that she's going to take Slippy to one of her favorite pizza places later. It's all taken care of."

"Oh. Okay…" Fox said, letting Fara lead him to a table next to a window.

He stared out of the window, admiring the view, and Fara sat across from him. It took a few moments, but Fox eventually realized that the vixen was gazing at him, and he felt his cheeks redden slightly.

"What? What's wrong?" he inquired.

"Oh, nothing," Fara replied, her soft green eyes shining as she giggled.

Fox stared at the vixen, not certain just what to think. He had absolutely no clue as to why this girl was acting so strange…Still, he couldn't help but notice the way that the sunlight that streamed through the window made her fur glow with an almost golden tint.

"Now you're the one staring," she whispered softly, verdant eyes twinkling with laughter. Fox flushed even redder and hastily looked down at the table.

"Why…why hasn't anyone come to take our order yet or something?" he stammered.

"Sometimes this place is so busy, that it takes a long time," Fara replied. She leaned forward, resting her chin in her cupped paws as she added softly, "But I don't mind waiting. Do you?"

"Uhh…" Fox was beginning to wonder if his face would ever return to its normal shade. Fara gazed deeply into his eyes, her own still sparkling merrily.

"Sometimes things take a long time. And sometimes they can happen in an instant. Things like making a new friend…finding what you've been looking for…and even falling in love. Do you think that it's possible to meet somebody special just like that?"

Fox stared at Fara, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to reply…

And an announcement blared over Fara's com-link.

"Fara? It's Katt. General Pepper just contacted me and said that he needs Fox and his friends in his office ASAP. Get your tail over here!"

"Perfect timing, Katt," Fara muttered under her breath. Getting to her feet, she smiled apologetically at Fox and said, "Looks like I'll have to try this again later. I'll take you to the general's office."

She took the vulpine's paw and led him out of the restaurant, struggling not to show her disappointment. Fox followed her in a sort of stupor, trying to figure out just what she had meant by 'trying this again later.'

* * *

Katt and Falco were the first ones to arrive, oddly enough. The feline was not particularly happy about the fact that she'd had to postpone her all-afternoon shopping spree with her friend; the avian was secretly thanking the powers above for granting her a reprieve from the endless walking from store to store. General Pepper, Amber, Peppy, and Rabbi were all still in the office, and the cheetah motioned for the two new arrivals to take a seat while they waited for the others.

A few moments after Bill arrived with Slippy, Sable all but burst into the room, panting hard as she sprinted in. Between gasping for air, the ferret nervously glanced toward the stunned general and asked if she was late. Smiling slightly, the canine quickly assured her that she was on time, and the girl sighed with relief as she flung herself into a chair. Rabbi rolled her eyes in disgust, although she made certain that no one was paying any attention to her before she did.

Fara finally brought Fox into the office, still steaming a little bit about being interrupted. As the two vulpines found seats, General Pepper exchanged glances with Peppy and Amber, then got to his feet. The canine cleared his throat, and everyone in the room looked at him.

"Ahem, well now, I'm certain that you all have at least some idea of why I called all of you here," he started, scanning the faces before him. "As you all know, we tested three promising new pilots earlier today, and I got the results a few hours ago."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Fox, Falco, Slippy, I'm very pleased to announce that all of you got exceptionally high marks."

Slippy and Fox sighed with relief, while Falco just nodded expectantly, not looking the least bit surprised by the statement.

"Now, I have been informed that you three are not particularly taken with the idea of joining the military, but would still like to help in the fight against Andross. Therefore, I have a bit of a proposition for you three."

Nervously, Fox watched the general's face, hoping to figure out what he was getting to. The canine took a deep breath, then said, "Fox McCloud. Would you and your companions be willing to allow the Cornerian Alliance to hire you as mercenaries?"

"What?" Fox asked, stunned.

"We're offering you the chance to pilot your own little team against Andross, without having to join up with our military," the canine commander continued. "Miss Monroe can tell you more about the deal, since she signed up under one herself; however, to summarize it, we will give you free room and board, your own Arwings, and all the basic maintenance and other essentials that you need. In addition, we will pay you sixty-four bits for each Venomian ship that you destroy. It's really a very good deal both ways; you get to fight against Andross without feeling tied to the military, and we gain three new allies in our war effort."

"Well…I…" Fox started to stammer.

"We do have one other slight stipulation, however," Rabbi interrupted, getting to her feet. All eyes turned to her, and she said, "We feel that it would be wise if we assigned an experienced pilot to your team. Once they join up with you, we will consider them to be a mercenary as well, and treat them as such. Their presence on the team would be intended merely to help you less experienced pilots early on. Do you understand this?"

Falco's eyes narrowed slightly at the female rabbit's words, picking up on the underlying insults in her speech. However, the blue falcon did not comment, instead settling on fixing Rabbi with a cold glare as she waited to hear who would be assigned to their team.

"Yes…I guess so…" Fox said. His gaze flickered over to Bill as he asked, "Who do you have in mind?"

Rabbi actually smiled slightly, and she looked straight at her intended choice and said, "I believe that the best choice would be Miss Sable Lightfoot."

The ferret gasped and nearly tumbled out of her seat. All eyes swung to stare at her, and Sable glanced around at everybody, her bright blue eyes widened into orbs as she squeaked, "Me?"

"It does make sense, when you think about it," Rabbi went on, her cold pink eyes fixed on the ferret. "You are the newest member of the current Arwing team, and the one who is most likely to adjust well to being on a different team. You will be able to adapt to being under Mister McCloud's command faster than the others would be. Do you not feel that you are capable of this change?"

Sable snapped her mouth shut, and her blue eyes glittered as she shot a nasty look in the female rabbit's direction. The look didn't last long, however, and she quickly nodded her head as she replied, "I feel that I am very capable of adjusting to this change. In fact, I really look forward to it, _commander_."

Rabbi didn't miss the implication in the last word, but she ignored it. As if she cared what this boy-child thought about her.

General Pepper coughed, gaining everyone's attention. The canine looked over at where Fox was sitting as he said, "Well, I'm glad to see that you're willing, Lightfoot, but we haven't got a confirmation yet. Mister McCloud, are you interested in our offer?"

"I…" Fox's voice trailed off awkwardly and he glanced at the others gathered in the room. All eyes were focused on him and his friends. "It's…not entirely my decision…"

"Well, I, for one, am willing to take it," Falco interrupted, and all eyes turned to where the avian was leaning against the wall. She raised her head, and everyone could see how her blue-green eyes glittered intensely as she said, "It's not the best you can offer, but it still sounds fair enough to me. I'm more than willing to take down Andross, by myself if I have to, and your offer interests me. I'll accept it."

"Falco…all right then, I trust your judgement," Fox decided aloud. Looking over at Slippy, he asked, "If you don't feel like accepting it, Slippy…"  


"H-h-hey, where you two go, I go," Slippy replied, smiling a lopsided smile. He hoped he sounded braver than he felt.

"Then I guess it's settled," Fox said, getting to his feet. Glancing over at General Pepper, he took a deep breath and said, "General, we accept your offer."

The canine commander nodded, a rare grin spreading over his face. Sable let out a whoop of excitement, and she glanced around at the others, beaming. Katt grinned and slapped the ferret a high-five. Bill walked over and shook Fox's hand, tipping his sunglasses at a disinterested Falco.

"I hope this isn't a decision you regret later," Peppy said under his breath, watching the joyful conversations from a corner. He smiled, but he couldn't help remembering a scene similar to this one, back when he, Pigma, and James had first formed the Starfox team…

* * *

"Here's the new uniform that the General had made for you, Fox," Bill said as he tossed a tightly folded bundle over to where his friend was sitting on the couch. When the vulpine failed to respond, the canine frowned and called, "Yo, Foxy, Corneria calling Foxy, come in Foxy."

"Hmm?" Fox looked up, a little startled. His expression immediately became contrite, and he mumbled, "Sorry…"

"Thinking about what happened at the meeting?" Bill asked, leaning against the side of the couch and crossing his arms. His dark sapphire eyes searched the vulpine's face, and after a moment, he smiled and said, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yeah…" Fox admitted slowly, raising his gaze to look out the window. The late afternoon sun shone into the room, and Fox watched it slowly sink in the sky as he sighed, "I can't believe that I'm really going through with this."

"Why?"

Bill tilted back his customary sunglasses, watching his friend's expression closely. The vulpine sighed, shrugging his shoulders slightly, and glanced over at the canine.

"I don't know. It just seems…strange, you know? Like this is all some sort of dream." Fox gazed out at the late afternoon sky, his eyes wavering as they drunk in the sight. "I just…well, I mean…I'm going to be a real Arwing pilot…just like him, you know?"

Bill didn't have to ask who Fox meant; he knew who the vulpine was talking about.

"I wonder if I'll be as good a leader as he was," Fox mused, more to himself than to his friend. "I wonder how well I'll be able to perform…out there in real life, when everything's on the line…I wonder if I'll ever see Andross face to face…"

His voice trailed off, and Bill had to strain to catch what he whispered next: "I wonder if I'll let everyone down."

"…Foxy." Bill sighed the nickname, and Fox glanced over at him.

The vulpine had a strange, sad smile on his face, and his soft, mint green eyes wavered as he hastily changed the subject.

"So…I guess I'm in charge of your little sister now, huh?" he stammered. "So tell me…just what have I gotten myself into? What's she like?"

Bill smiled suddenly, and his eyes danced as he replied, "Well, the bad news is, she's just as energetic most of the time as she was during your tests." He grinned as the vulpine groaned, then added, "But she's really a good pilot, honest. And I'm not just saying that because she's my adopted sister, either."

Fox's expression must have betrayed his skepticism, because Bill frowned for a moment and said, "I'm serious Fox. She really is a great pilot. You know that test you took earlier today? Well, when she took it, she was paired up with Rabbi, just like Falco was. Rabbi's a really great pilot, that's why she's in command of our Arwing unit, but Sable managed to completely blow her out of the sky. It just took her a few shots…" Bill cocked his paw like a pistol, "…blammo. Rabbi went down like a Venomian."

Now Fox was staring up at Bill, his eyes wide. Bill nodded solemnly, then grinned again as he added, "Rabbi was really ticked off after that. I don't think she ever got over getting shot down by a rookie like that. But…Sable's really good. Don't be fooled by her childishness: she's a good pilot, and she likes to fight. Any Venmie she gets in her sights is as good as gone."

"Is that so…" Fox said, staring over at the canine, who grinned back at him. The vulpine looked clearly troubled by his words, so Bill hastily scrambled to reassure him.

"Don't worry about it, Foxy," he said. "Sable may be hyper at times, but she's really loyal, and she'll follow orders. At least from you," he added under his breath, making certain that the vulpine wouldn't hear the last part.

Fox picked up the bundle of clothing and unwrapped it, his eyes widening in surprise as he lifted out a flight jacket, staring at the almost silvery shade of the fabric. Glancing over at Bill, he breathed, "This looks like…"  


"That was Peppy's idea," Bill explained, seeing the confusion on Fox's face. "He thought that you might feel a little more comfortable with this change if the uniforms were deliberately made to look similar to the ones he and your father wore when they were on the Starfox team. Was he wrong?"

"No…no, it's fine," Fox said, rubbing one paw over the shining jacket. "Tell him…I said thank you."

"No problem," Bill replied, "Although I bet he'd rather hear it straight from you." He got to his feet and added, "Anyway, the general said that I need to help you gather your things. He's going to move you into some more permanent quarters tonight."

* * *

"Let me see, let me see!" Katt prodded, hovering over Falco's shoulder as the avian opened the package she had received from Amber earlier. The feline exclaimed in delight as Falco lifted out a gleaming flight jacket. "Wow, that looks great! It almost makes me wish that I had to wear a uniform! Although…I guess this wouldn't really be a uniform, since you're not in the military."

"I don't think they'd give their soldiers anything quite like this," Falco commented calmly.

Still, her blue-green eyes flashed with a sort of energy, and Katt could tell that her friend was excited by everything that was happening. The avian refolded the jacket and placed it beside her, looking through what else the package contained.

"So Katt, are you disappointed that you're not going to be on the same team as me?" the avian asked.

"Yes and no," Katt sighed. "I'm sorry that we won't be on the same team, of course, but on the other hand, it's best for Sable that she get as far away from Rabbi's command as possible."  
  
"Oh?" Falco paused and glanced over at the pink feline. "Why is that?"

Katt sighed, and Falco felt herself tense slightly as she noticed how quiet the feline had suddenly become. She got the distinct feeling that she was about to hear something bad.

"Tell me," she prompted, her voice becoming gentle.

"Okay, look," Katt began, her eyes suddenly serious, "I'm going to be frank here. Rabbi and Sable do _not_ get along. Not in the slightest. Ever since the ferret joined a few months ago, they've been fighting almost constantly. It's always the same thing: Sable did something too fast, she was too slow, she acted on her own, she sat back and let something happen. Nothing the girl does is ever good enough for Rabbi, so she's always on the poor kid's case."

"Really?" Falco asked, arching an eyebrow as she glanced over at Katt. The feline nodded.

"Of course, Sable's never been too thrilled with Rabbi, either," she added. "She accuses her of being heartless…of not really giving a damn about anyone or anything. She really blew up yesterday, after Peppy was captured and Rabbi instructed everyone to turn back instead of pursuing the carrier that kidnapped him. She followed orders, but was not happy about it, and Rabbi got an earful after they landed. I swear, you could hear those two from anywhere in the entire base."

Katt slammed a fist into her other paw, grimacing as she added, "I just wish that I'd been able to go with them when the alert was given. It took me off guard, and I wasn't able to get to my Arwing in time to help them out. By the time I got to the hanger, it was too late: Peppy had already been kidnapped, and Rabbi and Sable were at each other's throats. I wish…if I had gone with them, Sable and I would have been able to go after those Venmies and save Peppy!"

"And then Fox, Slippy and I would still be at our own little hideout and not here," Falco interjected mildly. Katt stared at the avian with wide eyes, then burst out laughing.

"You're right, you're right," she said with a smile. "I guess I should be happy things worked out the way they did, huh? It could have been a lot worse…anyway, we should get going. I have to help you get packed so you can move into your new room."

* * *

"What? You're really going to become an Arwing pilot?" Beltino exclaimed, staring at his son with wide eyes.

Slippy shifted nervously under his father's intense gaze, hugging the bundle of clothes he had gotten from the cheetah to his chest. He nodded, shakily, unwilling to look directly at his father for some strange reason that he couldn't quite name.

"Umm…y-y-yeah, t-t-that's r-r-right," he finally managed to stammer a response, his voice shaking more than usual.

He raised his gaze a little, the quickly looked back down at the floor when he saw the expression on his father's face. It was one of total confusion, of fear…and what almost looked like…outrage?

"Hmm…I'm not sure if I approve of this…" Beltino mused, his eyes narrowing as a frown creased his face. "I would prefer having you by my side on my team, just so I could keep an eye on you… I don't like the idea of you going out where you could get hurt, Slippy."

Slippy nodded mutely, tears springing to his eyes. He wasn't certain how to respond to what he was being told, so he kept quiet.

"Well, I suppose it's okay," Beltino sighed at length, shrugging to indicate his helplessness. "It's your life, and I won't try to stop you from doing what you want to do with it. Only…try and be careful," he added, placing his heavy hands on Slippy's shoulders. The younger toad sniffled and gazed up into his father's face as he continued, "Slippy…you're the only family I have left. If anything happens to you…please promise me that you'll be careful."

"I w-w-will, D-D-Dad," Slippy managed to choke out, then he slowly pulled away from Beltino's unresisting arms and turned to start packing what few possessions he had brought from the cave. A torrent of emotions tore at his heart, and he tried not to glance in his father's direction as he got ready to go.

* * *

Sable tore through her closet, sending clothing flying in the general direction of the suitcase she had hauled out onto her bed. The ferret's heart pounded wildly, and phrases from the meeting she had just come from still echoed in her disbelieving mind.

__

"I believe that the best choice would be Miss Sable Lightfoot."

"Me?"

Sable kind of wished that she'd been able to come up with something a bit more confident-sounding than that, but the announcement had taken her completely off guard. Still, as surprised as she had been when she heard the news, at the same time it had sent a thrill through her. Finally, she wouldn't have to put up with Rabbi anymore; at the very least, she wouldn't have to take orders from her, even if their teams did end up fighting side by side. Things were definitely looking up…

To top things off, she was going to be on the new Starfox team…the _Starfox_ team! She couldn't believe it. Like every other citizen of Corneria, not to mention the entire Lylat System, she knew all the tales of the original squadron's bravery. The names of the three members were etched permanently into her memory: Peppy Hare, Pigma Dengar, and James McCloud…

__

And I'm going to be on the same team as his son! I'm going to be working with HIS SON!

To be fair, she was no stranger with working with the offspring of greatness. Although… she really hoped that her experiences with Rabbi were not a reflection of what was coming. She didn't think that would be the case; from what she had seen of the vulpine, he and Rabbi were about as different as…well, as foxes and rabbits. Only the stereotypical qualities associated with both races appeared to be reversed in this case…

"Oh, whatever," Sable sighed, stuffing a few last things into her already bulging suitcase.

She pushed it shut, and had to strain to keep it closed as she fumbled with the latch. Whoever designed these things definitely did not have the consumer in mind, she decided as the top threatened to pop open and whack her in the chin. Finally, she managed to flip the lock closed, and as she slumped down with a sigh of relief, her gaze flicked over to the package Amber had handed her earlier.

"…That's right…they wanted us to show up wearing whatever's in these, right?" she murmured, snatching the package up and ripping it open.

For a moment, she gawked at the uniform inside, her already huge blue eyes widening slightly. A shaky smile pulled at the side of her mouth, then became a lopsided grin as she whispered, "Ooh…this is cool…this is so COOL!"

Quickly, she changed her clothes, and turned to admire herself in the mirror. Normally, she wasn't one to fuss over her looks, but this was a special occasion. She eagerly studied herself, adjusted the goggles still perched on her forehead, then grinned, giggled, and winked at her reflection, sticking her tongue out slightly.

"I look great," she decided happily, then she happened to glance over at the digital clock on her dresser. The grin on her face faded rapidly, replaced by a look of pure horror, and she shrieked in a tone that could have been heard through the entire base, "OH FREAK, I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

She bolted for the door, nearly plowing directly through it in her haste to leave. A few seconds passed, then she suddenly dashed back into the room, yanked her suitcase off of her bed, and darted out again. The rest of her things she left behind for now: she would be able to move it later after finding out exactly where her new quarters would be…

* * *

Fox nervously tugged on the collar of his new jacket as he glanced at the wall clock, torn between impatience with his friends and a strange hope that they would take their time, at least long enough for him to adjust to what was happening. The unusual thing was, they weren't even late: he and Bill had arrived early, and now both were standing at the appointed meeting place and waiting for the others to hurry up and arrive. The canine was currently at one of the soda machines, studying the selection.

"Hey Foxy, you want anything?" he called back.

When the vulpine didn't answer, he shrugged and inserted a few credits, making his choice with the press of a button. The machine clunked loudly as a bottle tumbled out, and Fox jerked a little at the sudden noise. However, Bill did not notice this, and he strode back to his friend's side, leaned against the wall, and tipped back his head as he took a long swig from his drink.

"Don't act so nervous, Foxy," he said, tipping back his sunglasses a little and winking at his friend. "If you act nervous, it'll just make everyone else nervous too. Try to chill, okay?"

Fox smiled crookedly and nodded, then suddenly whirled around as Sable came crashing into the room at top speed. The ferret was all but tripping over her own two feet, and finally lost her grip on her heavy suitcase, which naturally happened to land on Bill's foot. The canine suppressed a yelp of pain and managed to grin at his adopted sister, who sweated when she noticed just where her luggage had landed.

"So-sorry," she blurted, hastily lifting it off of her brother's toes. Turning to Fox, her cheeks flushed bright red for a moment, then she gave him a lopsided grin, stuck out the tip of her tongue teasingly, and winking, saying, "Oops, my bad. This isn't exactly the type of first impression I meant to make on my new commander."

Bill laughed aloud at that, despite the pain in his foot, and Sable's smile grew wider. She looked around, decided that she wasn't late after all, and with a sigh of utter relief flopped down on a bench beside Fox. The vulpine gave her an interested look out of the corner of his eye; he didn't want to outright stare at her, but he wanted to get a better look at one of the pilots he would be commanding.

In many ways, her outfit looked similar to his; the metallic silver of her flight jacket standing out against the solid color of her shirt and pants. However, the sleeves of her jacket looked puffier and more rounded than his, while her shirt was the same bright sky blue shade of her eyes and the goggles shoved up on her forehead. Her boots were lower cut, too, looking a bit more like sneakers than his did. As he watched, she flipped a few stray locks of dark chocolate fur away from her eyes, which looked all the wider because of the mask-like pattern that surrounded them. According to the briefing he had got, she was seventeen, but she looked years younger at that moment.

The door opened again, more slowly this time, and all three occupants of the room looked up in unison as Slippy walked inside. His uniform resembled Fox's and Sable's, but the sleeves were much longer on his jacket, almost longer than his arms, and his shirt was a much darker blue, like navy blue. He looked vaguely troubled about something, and Fox opened his mouth to say something, only for it to fall open when Falco walked in.

"Wow, Falco, you look great in that shade of red," Bill offered at once, straightening up his back and smiling directly at the avian, who ignored his words. Folding her wings over the scarlet fabric on her chest, letting the long, shimmering silver sleeves of her flight jacket crinkle slightly, the blue falcon glanced around with one delicate eyebrow arched.

"So where's the general?" she asked, sounding more than a little impatient to get started.

The doors slid open, and all eyes turned at once to it as General Pepper strode in, Peppy and Amber following behind him as usual. The canine smiled as he looked at the assembled, eyes twinkling slightly as if at some inner amusement.

"Oh, good, so you all made it here," he commented, and Falco arched an eyebrow at this.

"Is there any reason for us not to have?" she asked, narrowing her piercing gaze at the commander. The general stared at her, then quickly coughed into one cupped paw and shook his head.

"No, no reason," he said, appearing to avoid looking her straight in the eyes.

Falco cocked her eyebrow a little more at this, but remained silent. After a moment, General Pepper seemed to recover, and he scanned the small team assembled before him.

"Well, then, if you feel you are all ready then, I will show you to your new quarters," he said, smiling again.

As he turned away, motioning for the others to follow, Peppy glanced back at them and noticed that the four members of the new Starfox team looked more than a little confused by what was happening. The rabbit smirked at some secret known only to him and a few others, although soon these young pilots would know it as well…

"I'm sure you'll like your new quarters," he murmured under his breath, smiling slightly. "After all, not everyone gets something like this at your age…and named after you, yet…"

"Did you say something, Peppy?" Sable asked, popping up beside the rabbit. He gave her a wide-eyed stare and jumped back, startled by her sudden appearance.

"_N-N-NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL!_" he blurted, face flushing. Sable just looked at him and blinked her wide blue eyes a few times, completely confused. Laughing nervously, Peppy slowly backed out of the room and dashed after General Pepper and Amber, leaving the younger pilots to stare after him.

"…What was that all about?" Fox asked, glancing over at Bill as if he expected to canine to explain Peppy's odd behavior. Bill just shrugged slightly and sweatdropped.

"Sable just has that effect on some people," he muttered.

"I HEARD THAT!"


End file.
